Benjamín Gutiérrez

Benjamín Gutiérrez (born January 3, 1937, in Guadalupe, Costa Rica) is a celebrated composer in Costa Rica. He is a conductor, composer, and pianist. Gutiérrez began by studying music with his grandmother, Rosa Jiménez Nuñez, daughter of the composer Pilar Jiménez.” Gutiérrez then studied music in Guatemala City, Boston, Ann Arbor, Aspen, and Buenos Aires. The following were among his teachers: Ross Lee Finney, Darius Milhaud, and Alberto Ginastera. Gutiérrez has written music for piano, orchestra, violin, viola, clarinet, flute, saxophone, trombone quartet, bassoon quartet, marimba, opera, and several other instruments. Early years Benjamín Gutiérrez was born into a musical family outside of San José; they all played instruments. Gutiérrez’s father was an amateur violinist who owned a shoe factory. His mother, Lupita Sáenz Jiménez-Núñez, played the piano. Gutiérrez’s grandmother recommended that he join the Conservatorio de Música in San José. Gutiérrez took piano lessons from the conservatory under the tutelage of Professor Miguel Angel Quesada until he was thirteen years old. Gutiérrez was persuaded by one of his professors to drop out of high school and enroll at Omar Dengo Sch