Alejandro Ochoa (D. Mus, M. Mus)

Alejandro Ochoa (Doctor of Musical Arts) graduated Magna cum Laude from Universidad de Los Andes, where he studied with the celebrated Cuban pianist Ignacio Pacheco. The recording of his graduation recital, “Three Centuries of Pianistic Virtuosity,” was awarded the Otto de Grieff National Prize for outstanding thesis work.

As well as performing extensively throughout Colombia, Alejandro has given numerous solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal. As a fortepianist he has been heard in Montreal and Bruges, Belgium.

Named the top competitor at the Concurso Nacional de Piano UIC (2002), Alejandro is the recipient of numerous other prizes, including the Berlind/Sara Award, McGill University’s coveted Schulich Scholarship, and grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the McGill Alma Mater Fund.

Alejandro obtained a Master of Music degree from McGill University in 2005 and recently completed at McGill the Doctoral Degree in Performance Studies. His principal research focus is historical performance practice of 18th and 19th-Century music and instruments and in particular Beethoven's piano variations. This work culminated in his thesis ‘Wit, Humour, Variations, and the “New Way” – A New Outlook on Beethoven’s Variation Sets from 1802: Op. 34 and Op. 35’. His latest CD recording for the label Enkii Records© made with the support of the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec features works on fortepiano by C.P.E. Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

On top of a being a soloist, Alejandro is sought after as a music teacher and collaborative pianist. He has recently instructed piano at McGill University as well as several other keyboard courses at the same institution.