Artist, Interdisciplinary Educator. Galician Bagpipes, Piano., Silk Road Ensemble
Cristina Pato (Ourense, Spain 1980)
Artist and Interdisciplinary Educator.
Galician Bagpipes, Piano. Producer.
Member and educational advisor: Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble
Blodgett Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University (Department of Music)
Cristina Pato is a master of the Galician bagpipes (gaita), a classical pianist, and a passionate educator. Hailed as “a virtuosic burst of energy” by the New York Times, and as “one of the living masters of the gaita” by the Wall Street Journal, her professional life is devoted to cultural exchange and forging new paths for the Galician bagpipe. Cristina has performed on major stages throughout the world and has released and produced six solo gaita albums and two solo piano recordings, and collaborated on more than 40 records as a guest artist.
In 1998, Cristina Pato became the first female gaita player to release a solo album, and since then she has collaborated with diverse artists including New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O'Farril, Paquito D'Rivera and dancers Damian Woetzel and Lil’ Buck.
Education is a critical part of Cristina’s personal and professional life. She serves as Silkroad’s Education Ensemble Advisor, has been an artist-in-residence at a number of universities, including Harvard, the University of California, and The College of the Holy Cross, is the founder of the multidisciplinary Galician Connection Festival, and writes a bi-monthly column for the Spanish newspaper El Correo Gallego.
Cristina holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano from Rutgers University, degrees in piano, music theory, and chamber music from the Conservatorio de Musica del Liceu, and a Master of Fine Arts in Computer Music from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
In 2017 Cristina Pato was named Blodgett Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University (Department of Music).
www.cristinapato.com
