Multifaceted and talented Marian Gutierrez Curiel has a music career that spans performance and education. From her early career touring the world as a violinist with Venezuela’s famous Simón Bolívar Orchestra, she has progressed to being a youth ensemble conductor, a strings teacher, and a program director.
She currently lives in Portland, Oregon where since 2019 she has been conductor of the beginning string ensemble of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. At BRAVO Youth Orchestras, she is the Program Strings Coordinator and manager of the BRAVO Community Orchestra.
Her career as a violinist began at the age of 9 in the conservatory of the small coastal city of Coro, Venezuela, and after a few years, she joined the State Symphony Orchestra playing important works of the classical and Latin American repertoire and participating as a soloist on several occasions. At age 12 she was accepted to the National Children’s Orchestra of Venezuela, and then in the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela doing international tours in the United States and Europe.
In 2001 she was accepted into the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela where she had the opportunity to play on important stages such as Carnegie Hall (USA), Berlin Philharmonie (Germany), Royal Albert Hall (England) and international festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the BBC Proms festival and the Salzburg Festival. She has also shared the stage with international conductors and soloists such as Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, John Corigliano, John Williams, Gustavo Dudamel, Martha Argerich, Natalia Gutman, among others.
She moved to the United States in 2017, continuing her musical career as part of the first violins and the production team of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, sharing the stage with figures from the Latin American scene, as well as participating in the production of several relevant events and projects in the city.
Since her arrival in Portland in 2018, Marian’s musical work has been highly valued locally, allowing her to continue developing her career and broaden her professional skill set. In 2020 she was a panelist for All Classical Portland’s “Recording Inclusivity Initiative”, a project that addresses equity and access for classical music composers of color and musicians from underrepresented communities. In 2022, Marian was awarded the CBDNA Mike Moss Conducting Study Grant.
Marian strongly advocates for social change through music, following the example of Maestro Abreu. As an educator and program director, she creates supportive learning environments and helps her students develop skills to benefit them in music and in life.