Luz Manriquez
Director of Piano Division
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Bio
Luz Manríquez was born in Santiago de Chile, where she studied with Elena Weiss at the Escuela Moderna de Música. Upon graduation, she continued to advance her studies under Edith Fisher in Switzerland and María Iris Radrigán at the Catholic University in Chile. Following the completion of her master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Ms. Manríquez was appointed to the faculty as Artist Lecturer in Piano and Chamber Music in 1992, and later promoted to Professor of Collaborative Piano. Since 2012, she has been the Director of the Instrumental Collaborative Piano department.
Ms. Manríquez has been a regular guest of the Shadyside Concert Series and the Frick Art Museum Series. She has performed with the Nuance Music Ensemble, conducted by former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes, as well as with the Chamber Music Project Ensemble at the Andy Warhol Museum. Since its founding in 2004 by cellist Aron Zelkowicz, Ms. Manriquez has also been a regular guest with the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival (PJMF). She also appears yearly on the Carnegie Mellon Faculty Chamber Music Series.
Ms. Manríquez was the pianist in It's Peaceful Here on Arabesque Records and Made in U.S.A. on Ocean Records, featuring violinist Andrés Cárdenes. She has also collaborated in recordings of works by contemporary composers such as Reza Vali, Marilyn Taft Thomas, Efraín Amaya, Nancy Galbraith and David Stock. Ms. Manríquez can be heard in recordings of oboe and piano music with PSO principal oboist Cynthia DeAlmeida. She also has performed alongside flutist Alberto Almarza in Atacama (Nancy Galbraith). In 2015 and 2016 recordings with cellist Aaron Zelkowicz were released – Chamber Music of Joachim Stutchewsky and Leo Zeitlin’s Yiddish Songs and Chamber Music and Declamations, both on Toccata Classics.
In October 2002, Ms. Manríquez participated in the George Crumb Festival in Pittsburgh and recorded Music for a Summer Evening for two pianos and percussions conducted by Maestro Juan Pablo Izquierdo. This recording was awarded the Diapason d'Or Prize in France.
As a pedagogue, Ms. Manríquez teaches at the Carnegie Mellon Preparatory School of Music, where she serves as Director of the Piano Division. Her students are prize winners in National and International piano competitions and have been invited to perform at highly-acclaimed venues such as Carnegie Music Hall (New York City) and in the United Nations. Ms. Manríquez has been invited to give Master Classes at Yonsei University and Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, Korea, Lima, Peru and Santiago in Chile. In May 2017, she inaugurated the first CMU Collaborative Piano Festival in Bogotá, Colombia.
One of Chile's most distinguished musicians, Ms. Manríquez has appeared as soloist, recitalist and in chamber ensembles throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe. Her artistry, combined with an innate musical sensitivity to others, has made her a sought-after chamber musician and collaborative artist. She has been a featured soloist with Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Renaissance City Winds and performs frequently with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Manríquez is the founder and artistic director of the Carnegie Mellon Instrumental Collaborative Piano Festival which made its debut in the summer of 2019.