Jorge Amado
500 words bio
Jorge Amado (b.1997)
Amado is a Cuban-born composer, violinist, and violist whose music bridges Afro-Cuban traditions and contemporary classical language. Drawing on the cultural memory of his homeland while embracing modern aesthetics, he has developed a distinctive voice rooted in rhythm, lyricism, and identity.
His compositions span chamber, orchestral, and stage works and have been presented at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Merkin Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. His music has been commissioned and performed by artists and ensembles such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Catalyst Quartet, Niurka González, members of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Jon Kimura Parker, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Desirée Ruhstrat, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba and the Cuban American Youth Orchestra (CAYO), among others, and has premiered at festivals including the Ear Taxi Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, Annapolis Chamber Music Festival, and Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.
Over the past few years, Amado has become one of the most distinctive Latin American voices in Chicago's contemporary music scene. His works have been featured at leading venues across the city, including the Auditorium Theatre, Harris Theater, Constellation, Guarneri Hall, and The Kehrein Center For The Arts, performed by Chicago-based artists and ensembles such as Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, ~Nois Quartet, Flannau Duo, musicians from the Chicago Civic Fellows, and performers affiliated with Ensemble Dal Niente and Mycelium New Music.
Jorge Amado is the recipient of numerous international honors, including First Prizes at the 8SW Composition Competition, Musicalia, and Nuestra América, and the Cubadisco Award for his album Ofrenda.
In 2023, he received a Jeff Award nomination for his original music for Measure for Measure at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, in collaboration with Orbert Davis.In 2025, he served as a Composer Fellow at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival at The Juilliard School and received Second Prize at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival Call for Scores.In 2026, he was selected as a winner of the Mycelium New Music Call for Scores and as a Composition Fellow of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival.
He is a finalist for the 2026 CINTAS Fellowship in Music Composition and in January 2027 will join OAcademy as a Fellow of the Global Artist Diploma in Composition.
Amado earned his Master’s Degree in Music Composition, with Distinction, from DePaul University, where he studied with Dr. Osnat Netzer and Dr. Christopher Wendell Jones. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition and Violin Performance, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of the Arts in Havana, where he studied composition with Juan Piñera and violin with Carmen Amador.
Currently based in Chicago, Amado serves as a Teaching Artist and Assistant to the Artistic Director of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, while maintaining an active private studio in violin, viola, and composition. He also teaches violin and chamber music at the Merit School of Music.
September 2026 - jorgeamadomusic.com