Jose Ramon Urbay
Jose Ramon Urbay was born in Cuba. The Maestro has traveled the world with his talent and knowledge of orchestral conducting. During 30 years as Music Director and Conductor of the National Ballet of Cuba, as well as Music Director and Conductor of the Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra of Havana, Cuba, he has delighted audiences of both classical and contemporary music lovers and has conducted famous dancers including Alicia Alonso, Antonio Gades, Cynthia Gregory, Carla Fracci, Ekaterina Maximova, and Vladimir Vasiliev.
Maestro Urbay has performed as guest Conductor in several major theatres and festivals including the Metropolitan Opera House of New York, the Kennedy Center of Washington, Liceo Theatre of Barcelona in Spain; the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, Victoria Art Center in Melbourne, Australia; Grand Theatre of Monte Carlo, Champs Elysees in Paris and Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. He has also conducted in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Luxembourg, Holland, Canada, Venezuela, and Mexico, among others.
He has orchestrated and re-orchestrated many full ballets and pas de deux.
Among them are Grand Pas de Quatre, Cinderella, The Millions of Arlequin, Cecilia Valdes, and many others. In 2000 he recorded, together with his daughter Marlene Urbay, the Cuban classical music CD “Memories of Cuba”, with the Florida Chamber Orchestra.
In 2001, Maestro Urbay was honored with a Grammy nomination in the Best Classical Crossover Category for “The Music of Ernesto Lecuona” CD. In 2002 his ballet musical version of the Cuban zarzuela “Cecilia Valdes” was premiered by the University of Miami Festival of Music.
In 2006 he also completed the orchestration of the original opera/ballet “Rosalinda” commissioned by The Hispanic American Lyric Theatre.
Presently he is Associate Conductor and Arranger of the Florida Chamber Orchestra. He also teaches at the Conchita Espinosa Academy of Music and Arts and at Belen Jesuit Prep School in Miami, Florida.