(December 14, 2011)

Alumnus Explores Nicaraguan Church Music with Fulbright Award

SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary alumnus Bernard Joseph Gordillo is currently researching Spanish colonial church music in Nicaragua after receiving a Fulbright U.S. Student program scholarship in Musicology last May. Supported by the National History Institute of Nicaragua and Central America, Gordillo is also completing secondary research on a unique collection of music manuscripts by 20th -century Nicaraguan composers.

Beyond his research activities, Gordillo is utilizing his Bachelor of Music in Performance from Centenary to give both solo and chamber recitals. A review of his recent concert debut with the Camerata Bach, Nicaragua's principal chamber ensemble, at the Ruben Dario National Theater is available in Spanish.

"My Nicaraguan adventure has just begun and I suspect it will only get more rewarding as time goes by," said Gordillo. "I brought with me a harpsichord, an instrument virtually unknown in Nicaragua. At our first rehearsal, Camerata Bach members told me a harpsichord had never been heard here before."

The National Theater and the U.S. Embassy in Managua is working with Gordillo to set up more recitals and presentations in Baroque music history. A number of the planned concerts will include local musicians in an effort to promote artistic exchange and understanding.

Gordillo is maintaining a blog and online photography portfolio of his travels in Nicaragua.

Since graduating from Centenary in 1995, Gordillo has performed on the harpsichord and chamber organ throughout the United States, Western Europe, and Israel, appearing at a number of festivals and concert series. He has been a staff accompanist in the Choral and Early Music departments at Indiana University and held a long-term position as harpsichordist for its Pre-College Recorder Program.

For five seasons, Gordillo was the writer, programmer, and assistant producer for Harmonia, a nationally syndicated Public Radio program dedicated to presenting early music in a new light. He was also the host and producer of the Harmonia Early Music podcast.

The United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board award recipients based on academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Since 1946, the Fulbright program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.