Patricia Brennan
Mexican born vibraphonist, marimbist and composer Patricia Brennan has been always surrounded by music. She inherited a deep love and appreciation for musical tradition from both parents, as well as being exposed to the musical richness of her native Port of Veracruz. She started studying music at 4 years old, playing latin percussion along salsa records with her father and listening to Jimmy Hendrix and Led Zeppelin records with her mother. Also, around the same age, she started playing piano, influenced by her grandmother who was a concert pianist.
At the age of 17, Patricia was selected from musicians all over the Americas to be part of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. During this time, she toured every country in the Americas and performed with renowned musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma and Paquito D’Rivera. Before moving to the U. S., Patricia was already performing with the top symphony orchestras in Mexico, such as Xalapa Symphony Orchestra and Mineria Symphony Orchestra. Also, she had already won several awards on marimba competitions and young artist competitions in Mexico and abroad. She was accepted at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was able to perform alongside high caliber musicians from all over the world and conductors such as Simon Rattle and Charles Dutoit. She also performed with the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra and other acclaimed new music groups such as members from Eight Blackbird.
Patricia’s search for freedom in her musical expression led her to find her voice through the vibraphone and mallet percussion in improvisational music and composition.
Currently, Patricia is a member of Grammy nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus. She is also a member of Blind Spot with Teju Cole, a project led by renowned pianist Vijay Iyer along with bassist Linda Oh and writer Teju Cole. She has also collaborated with Vijay Iyer in other projects, including the large ensemble project Open City and several small ensemble performances along with renowned musicians like bassist Reggie Workman and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. She is also a member of Phalanx Ambassadors, a project led by pianist Matt Mitchell along with guitarist Miles Okazaki, bassist Kim Cass, drum set player Kate Gentile and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. Among Patricia’s own projects are ANTENNA, a collective of composers and improvisers and TRIPTYK, a dynamic electroacoustic trio along with percussionist Noel Brennan and violinist/violist Leonor Falcon.
Patricia has performed with many renown musicians including singer and composer Meredith Monk, violinist Todd Reynolds, singer and composer Theo Bleckmann, saxophonist Tony Malaby, trumpeter Nate Wooley, drummer Harris Eisenstadt, and many others. She has performed in venues such as Newport Jazz Festival, SF JAZZ, and Carnegie Hall, as well as international venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has also appeared on National Television and Public Radio several times.
Patricia has appeared on several recordings, including an ECM recording with bassist Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus called “The Distance” and Matt Mitchell’s new record “A Pouting Grimace” under Pi Recordings label. Also, Patricia has recently recorded a new record with the Grammy nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble which is expected to be released on January 2018 under New Amsterdam Records.
