Ivan E. Rodriguez

Iván Enrique Rodríguez Mercado (born May 9, 1990) is a Puerto Rican composer, conductor and copyist. He partly the founder of the Ernesto Ramos Antonini APAOSS Symphony Orchestra with the president and vice-president of the APAOSS organization.
Rodríguez is characterized by his virtuosity compositions and his charity and educational purposes composition.
Biography
Iván Enrique Rodríguez Mercado, was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. His interest in music was born at the age of 15, when he entered the Escuela Libre de Música of Caguas, Antonio O. Paoli, where he learned to play the saxophone under the tutelage of Professor Rafael Bracero. Years later, his musical curiosity led him to study piano, violin and singing, among other instruments, with the teachers Norissa Quinonez, José Eduardo Vanga and Luz M. Santana. It is through the study of these instruments that, at the age of 17, acknowledges itself a great interest in composition. His first work was drawn for choir and string orchestra: for the year 2007 "Ogoshness" was premiered by the choir of the Escuela Libre de Música Antonio O. Paoli at that same school.
In 2008, he is admitted to the program of violin performance at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, where he took classes with Professor Omar Velazquez. However, a year later, he decided to change his bachelor's degree concentration and study composition under the instruction of the renowned Puerto Rican composer Alfonso Fuentes. During his bachelor's degree Rodríguez decides to expand his creative horizons in the composition by taking various workshops, one of these related to film music with composer, arranger and conductor Blake Neely who has worked as the assistant to film composer Hans Zimmer.
Rodríguez has distinguished himself as a young composer active in extracurricular projects, ranging from short films to television commercials and in which he has been awarded several commissions. For 2011, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) commissioned him an arrangement of the Puerto Rican danza "Viva la Pepa" to be performed in a special concert dedicated to the Constitution of Cadiz, to the Consulate of Spain in Puerto Rico. During that same year a member of the PRSO, commissioned the work "Prisma" for flute and piano, with which won second place in the international competition Chicago Flute Club. Following this works, the PRSO commissioned two more arrangements, one of the Sonatina No.1 Anh.5 of L. v. Beethoven, this time for the Three Kings concert in 2013 and the other of the Sonatina Op.36 No.1 M. Clementi for a fundraising concert for the Children's Museum in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Rodriguez also has distinguished himself as a conductor, debuting in 2012 the commission of "Gran Trio", a work for violin, flute, cello and orchestra composed by himself, for the Concierto Homenaje a Maestros de Maestros of the nonprofit organization APAOSS. It is for this presentation that he receive the invitation to conduct his symphonic overture "Crónica de Una Vida" plus "Gran Trio", this time in a government activity in tribute to Ernesto Ramos Antonini, held in the Capitol of Puerto Rico. Following these presentations the composer, trumpeter, arranger and producer Luis (Perico) Ortiz commissioned a work for his album Tiempo de Amar, which Rodriguez titled "Himno de Vida" where he had the opportunity to perform, not only as a composer but also as a conductor. Thanks to this event had the great privilege to work on this production with high caliber artists as Ruben Blades, Ismael Miranda, Andy Montanez, Alex D' Castro, Victoria Sanabria, Danny Rivera, NG2, Prodigio Claudio, among others.
In addition to the aforementioned The Estuary Program Bay of San Juan, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Municipality of San Juan and APAOSS commissioned Rodriguez the "Fanfarria a Nuestra Bahía" for brass quintet. This work was premiered by the New Brass Quintet in the activity San Juan desde el Agua organized for the awareness of the importance of the Bay of San Juan.
It has also been premiered Rodríguez's " ... " ( three suspensive dots ) for string quartet in the XIX Music Education Seminar in Montevideo, Uruguay and his "Rondo" for bass in Brazil.
In education, Rodríguez has worked as a teacher of composition, arranging, orchestration, piano and violin in private schools, individual classes and workshops for teachers of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. Rodríguez has also been employed as a copyist working for the composer Alfonso Fuentes and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.
Currently, Iván E. Rodríguez unfolds as a composer, arranger, copyist and conductor in professional spheres.
Compositional style
Rodríguez's compositional style is an eclectic one. His style travels from the serial and free atonal harmony up to the traditional tonal harmonies but his predominant style is the Neo-Romantic harmonies and counterpoint style. He has composed a variety of works including fugues, sonatas, symphonic overtures, concertos for solo instruments and orchestra, as well as pieces for piano, guitar, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, octets, chamber ensembles, voice and piano, voice and chamber ensembles, choir, among others.

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