BIO
<Musician>
[Trombonist] [Composer] [Music Tech] [Researcher] [Sound Art]
Ricardo Arbiza is a Uruguayan trombonist, composer, and music technologist based in New York City. A Fulbright (2018) and OAS (2019) scholar, he has performed with the American Composers Orchestra, Uruguayan National Symphony Orchestra, United Nations Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Symphonic Band, and Manhattan Brass Quintet, and toured extensively across Latin America in a variety of genres.
His compositions have been premiered across the Americas and Europe, earning awards such as 1st Prize in the 2023 Uruguayan Composition Contest and the 2016 Argentine Trombonanza Festival. He has presented work at leading international conferences and festivals including SEAMUS, ICMC, IRCAM Forum, Trombonanza, the International Trombone Festival, and UTEC.
As a sound artist, Ricardo was selected as Artist-in-Residence at Viseu Dão Lafões: Echoes of Leaving in Portugal, and led a workshop at the Asian Art Center in Gwangju, South Korea. He co-leads the Sonic Time Machine Project with Dr. Tae Hong Park—a UNESCO-endorsed initiative to reconstruct the historical soundscape of the former ANGLO meatpacking plant in Uruguay, a World Heritage site.
He is also the creator of MIDImyFACE, a web-based facial gestural interface for real-time music performance and control.
His current research focuses on developing a non-intrusive human-computer interaction (NIHCI) framework for trombone. This involves the design of attachable tangible user interfaces (TUIs) that enable interaction with digital media—such as multimedia, lighting, and cyberspace—while preserving traditional instrumental playability. The framework supports a multi-modal composition integrating acoustic and digital performance.
Ricardo studied trombone with George Curran (New York Philharmonic), and Nick Schwartz (New York City Ballet); composition with Dr. Osvaldo Budón; and music technology with Dr. Tae Hong Park.
He holds a Bachelor’s in Music Composition from UDELAR-EUM (Uruguay), a Master of Music in Trombone from Mannes School of Music, a Master of Philosophy in Music Technology from NYU, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Performance and Composition at NYU, Steinhard under the advice of Dr. Robert Rowe.