About the Artists

Composed of four outstanding young Latin American musicians now residing in Mexico, the José White Quartet won the first and only prize in the Third National Competition of Chamber Music in Guanajuato, Mexico in 2000, that country's most prestigious musical accolade. The musicians share a broad musical training, varied performance experience and a very special enthusiasm and dedication to chamber music, both in the standard literature and the relatively unknown works of Latino composers.
With three of the original ensemble players having been born in Cuba (the other is Mexican-American) the members decided to pay tribute to José Lafitte White, indisputably Cuba's greatest violinist of the 19th- and early 20th-century and the only one to have a world-class career based in Europe. White was an inspiration to countless string players of Central and South America for many generations. So in the mid-90's the Cuarteto José White came into existence and began rehearsing and building repertoire; the quartet's formal debut was during the 1997-98 season when it was featured in a concert at the notable Chamber Music Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, and at other venues in Mexico and Canada. Its first performances elicited great success; the Quartet participated in the 2001 Orford Festival and made its first American tour in 2004 to rave reviews. Their first CD of all-Latino music was released on the Quindecim label.
The ensemble is now based in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where the members hold principal positions with the Symphony Orchestra as well as teaching and giving solo performances while enjoying the support which allows them to continue developing their primary interest in chamber music.
Who was José White? José White Lafitte (Silvestre de los Dolores) was born in Matanzas, Cuba in 1836 and divided his career between Europe and the Americas. In 1856 he won first prize at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied with Alard and later performed as first violinist in a quintet as well as giving solo concerts. He returned to Cuba in 1858 where he gave concerts with Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Returning to Paris from 1861-1874 he became a well-known soloist and chamber player and in 1866 became a member of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, where he taught both Enesco (Menuhin's teacher) and Thibaud. He then toured Europe (often performing with his wife, also a brilliant violinist), the USA (1874-5), and South America, where he became court violinist to the Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil. With Napoleäo dos Santos he founded the Sociedade de Conciertos Clásicos. In 1889 White returned to Paris and later gave a masterclass at the Conservatoire; he died in Paris on March 15, 1918.
His compositions, mostly in the European style in the manner of Wieniawski and Vieuxtemps, include a violin concerto, a Bolero for violin and orchestra, Variaciones for harpsichord and orchestra, an unpublished string quartet, six concert studies for violin ((which are still used today in the teaching of the violin), and various occasional pieces for violin including La Bella Cubana. His manuscripts are kept in the National Library in Havana.

Originally from Havana, Silvia Santa María is one of the most outstanding violinists of her generation. She began her musical studies at the age of five. She studied at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory and then at the Superior Institute of Art of Havana. As a merit to her artistic level she received a scholarship in 1986 to study in the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg, Russia with I.S. Rabinov. Since 1992 she has lived and worked in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where she is principal second violin and plays as a soloist in the Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed on important stages of many cities in Mexico. She participated in the Chamber Music Festival of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, studying with Lark String Quartet, American String Quartet, Penderecki String Quartet, Ying String Quartet, Shanghai String Quartet and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. She played with the Solistas de Mexico, founded by the director Eduardo Mata since 1993, with the Camerata de las Americas since 1995, and formed the Santa María-Medina Duet with the guitarist Sergio Medina, professor at the University of Guadalajara. She was a participant in the Cervantino International Festival (Guanajuato, Mexico) since 1993. She teaches violin and chamber music at the Manuel M. Ponce Center of Musical Studies in Aguascalientes and at the University of Zacatecas, Mexico. Some of her students have obtained prizes in important national contests. Her commitment to music has taken her with great success to audiences in Cuba, Spain, Russia, United States, Canada and Mexico.

Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, Carla Benitez graduated from the music academy of the University of Zacatecas. Her teachers and coaches have included Ricardo Justiz, Elisa Fukuda, Ljerko Spiller, Dimitri Sitkovetsky, Kristoff Bakovsky and Eva Steinschaden. During her musical education she received several prizes including: second prize in the "Hermilo Novelo" national violin competition in México, Honourable mention in the " Zacatecas city competition", and First mention in the "José White" international violin competition el La Habana, Cuba. She has taught at the Institute of the Fine Arts in San Luis Potosí state and at the Music Academy of the University of Zacatecas. She is concertmaster of the "Silvestre Revueltas" ensemble and assistant concertmaster of the Zacatecas Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also performed with the Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí Symphony Orchestras, Corda per Suonare ensemble and Coahuila chamber orchestra.

Sergio Carrillo (viola) was born in Los Angeles in 1976. He began his musical studies at the Los Angeles Music and Art School with Phillippe Zarian.. He then moved to Zacatecas, Mexico where he continued his studies at the Music School of the University of Zacatecas, receiving lessons from Tomas Ruíz and Ricardo Justiz. He was a member of the Camerata of the EMUAZ and of the Chamber Orchestra of the Cultural Institute of Tepic, Nayarit. He was also featured as a soloist with both orchestras. He participated in diverse contests and festivals in Mexico winning first prize in the National Contest of Chamber Music in the city of Guadalajara (1998) with the EMUAZ String Quartet. Now he plays in the Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra.

Orlando Espinosa (violoncello) was born in Havana in 1966 and graduated from the Superior Institute of Art of Havana in 1990. Since his University studies he dedicated his life fundamentally to chamber music, being the founding member of the Roldán String Quartet under the guide of Radosvet Bojadjiev. In 1992 he traveled to Mexico where he maintained an active life with the quartet until 1995. With the quartet he won two first prizes in festivals of chamber music in Havana (1988-1989), participated in the 450th Anniversary of the foundation of the University of Santo Domingo (Republica Dominicana) and in the Chamber Music Festival of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico from 1992 to 1995, studying with the Fine Art Quartet, Lark Quartet, Penderecki Quartet, Trio Borodin, Ying Quartet and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. In 1994 he recorded his first CD with the Roldán Quartet. He was principal cellist of the Queretaro Philharmonic (Mexico), and also principal of the Camerata del Bajio. Since 1990 he was professor in the Superior Institute of Art (Cuba) and in 1992 he began to teaching violoncello in the Luthier School of the Fine Arts National Institute of Mexico. He is a founding member of the Sagitario Trio. He is now co-principal cellist in the Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra.