Raymond Torres-Santos

Raymond Torres-Santos

Director of Composition

Office: UMC-C313
Phone: 562-985-4406
e-mail: raymond.torres-santos@csulb.edu

Dr. Raymond Torres-Santos is a composer, arranger, conductor, pianist and author. His works include orchestral, electronic and vocal music for the concert hall, film, theater, ballet, television and radio.

His works have been performed and/or commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, North Massachusetts Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Reading, Queens and Washington-D.C. Opera; the Bronx Arts Ensemble, Continuum, New Jersey Chamber Music Society, West Point Woodwind Quintet, North Jersey Philharmonic Glee Club, North/South Consonance, Muse-ique Orchestra, Quintet of the Americas, Gabrieli Quintet and Voix-Touche in the USA; the symphonies of Vancouver and Toronto as well as the Canadian Opera Orchestra in Canada; the Vienna Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony, Georgia Symphony, Soria Symphony, and Warsaw Conservatory of Music Chorus and Orchestra in Europe; the National Chinese Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, Seoul Symphony, Kaohsiung Philharmonic and Taipei Philharmonic Orchestras in Asia; the Buenos Aires, Chile, Colombia and Mexico City Symphony Orchestras in Latin America; and the Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras in the Caribbean. Featured at the Casals Festival, World Fair in Seville, Venice Biennale and Op Sail 2000, his music has been used for television and radio programs, and choreographed by dance companies.

His compositions and arrangements have been recorded for Sony Music, OSPR and SJP record labels; published by ANCO and RTS Music; and distributed by commercial retailers. He is the recipient of awards given by BMI, Meet the Composer, American Composers Forum, American Music Center, ASCAP, California State University and City University of New York. His music for film earned him a Henry Mancini Award, while his jazz composition earned him the Frank Sinatra Award, both given in Los Angeles.

As an arranger, he has worked with classical and pop performers, such as: Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Deborah Voigt, Angela Gheorghiu, Ana María Martínez, Anita Rachvilishvili, Rafael Dávila and Juan Luis Guerra. He has also served as an orchestrator for film composers in Hollywood, such as: Ralph Burns and Ry Cooder. As a jazz pianist, he worked with Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, Buddy Collette, Bobby Shew, and Tito Puente; and as a studio musician, he has been featured in soundtracks for movies.

As a conductor, he has led the London Session Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic, Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, Dominican Republic National Orchestra, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, Bronx Arts Ensemble Orchestra, and Hollywood studio orchestras in concerts and recordings. In addition, he has served as music director for pop and jazz singers Vikki Carr and Dianne Schuur, respectively.

His scholarly work focuses on music education, creativity, multiculturalism, music criticism and inter-disciplinary studies. His book, Music Education in the Caribbean and Latin America: A Comprehensive Guide, was recently published by the National Association of Music Education in conjunction with Rowman & Littlefield; while his scholarly articles appear in peer-reviewed journals from The City University of New York and Hofstra University; and his book chapters in books published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing and Almenara Press.

Dr. Torres-Santos is the former Chancellor of the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and Dean of the College of the Arts at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He studied at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and the University of Puerto Rico. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. degree in composition from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and completed advanced studies at Stanford and Harvard University as well as Eastman School of Music. He furthered his studies in Europe, at the Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Germany, and at the University of Padua, Italy. His major professors were Henri Lazarof and David Raksin. He has taught at the City University of New York, University of Puerto Rico, UCLA and the State University of New Jersey: Rutgers.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) and has served as a judge for the Grammys produced by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).