Performance Today selects Gabriela Ortiz as 2026 Classical Woman of the Year
ST. PAUL, Minn., March 30, 2026 – YourClassical's Performance Today, America’s most popular classical music radio show, is pleased to announce the selection of Gabriela Ortiz as the program’s 2026 Classical Woman of the Year. This prestigious title is awarded to exceptional women who have made significant contributions to the world of classical music and who provide inspiration for listeners.
“Many composers can illustrate a scene, a painting to be admired at arm’s length. Gabriela Ortiz catapults us into the music. We are floating weightless in the turquoise waters of a cenote, catching the scent of incense from an open-air chapel, or seeing the jungle through the eyes of an endangered Mexican jaguar. Her music pulses with the rhythms of Mexico: its landscapes, history, and traditions,” said Valerie Kahler, host of Performance Today. “Ortiz’s work as an educator in Mexico and internationally is driven by a deep sense of gratitude for her own education and her desire to give back to her country and the next generation of composers. Performance Today is honored to award her as Classical Woman of the Year.”
Born to a musical family in Mexico City, Gabriela Ortiz has always felt she didn’t choose music—music chose her. Her parents were founding members of Los Folkloristas, a renowned ensemble dedicated to performing Latin American folk music. Her formal studies began under esteemed Mexican composers Mario Lavista, Federico Ibarra, and Daniel Catán. Later, she continued her studies in Europe, earning a master’s degree at Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the guidance of Robert Saxton, and earning a doctorate in composition and electronic music from London’s City University under the guidance of Simon Emmerson.
In 2025 and 2026, Ortiz received four GRAMMY Awards for her portrait albums Revolución diamantina and Yanga, recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, including back-to-back wins for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. She is the first composer in GRAMMY history to win this award in successive years, affirming her status as a leading voice in contemporary classical music.
Ortiz’s work has been performed by prestigious orchestras and ensembles such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.
Ortiz’s many accolades include the 2022 Bellas Artes Gold Medal, Mexico’s National Prize for Arts and Literature, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright-García Robles Fellowship, and two Latin GRAMMY nominations. She has previously served as composer-in-residence with Carnegie Hall and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León. She is a member of the Academy of the Arts and has been inducted into El Colegio Nacional, Mexico’s most esteemed circle of intellectuals.
Ortiz is currently composer-in-residence at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonia in London, and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. She also teaches composition at Mexico’s National Autonomous University.
The recognition of Ortiz as the 2026 Classical Woman of the Year highlights both her individual achievements as well as her dedication to her craft. The Performance Today staff is honored to select Ortiz to not only recognize her as a role model in the classical music community, but also to support and celebrate women in the arts.
“I am deeply honored to receive this distinction from Performance Today. As a Mexican composer, this recognition carries a very special meaning for me, as it helps open much-needed doors for Latin American music on the global stage. It also reaffirms the vital importance of diversity in the arts, and of art itself as a form of communication deeply engaged with our time and our environment,” said Ortiz. “To be recognized alongside an artist as remarkable as Jessie Montgomery is truly meaningful. I accept this with gratitude and humility, and as an encouragement to continue creating music that reflects our shared humanity and the richness of our diverse cultural voices.”
Ortiz will be recognized on the March 30 episode of Performance Today, which will also include a conversation with Kahler about her career and accomplishments.
Learn more about the Classical Woman of the Year and listen to past interviews with Classical Women of the Year by at yourclassical.org.
Ortiz’s biography written with contribution from Ana Alonso Minutti.
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