Festival Staff

A cowboy from Texas, Martín Quiroga Jr.’s (b. 1987) recent accomplishments have included performances by groups such as the Riverside Chamber Orchestra, the University of Oregon Campus Orchestra, the Oregon Composers Forum, and the University of Oregon Brass Ensemble, Space City Performing Arts, Space City New Music Festival (2018), and the chamber choir Sospiro. An avid educator, Martín has also presented a conference paper at the University of North Georgia on pedagogical orchestral music. Martín has collaborated with a variety of artists, including Estelí Gomez, Wing In Crystal Chu, James Shields, and Brian McWhorter. Most recently, Martín has been named the Festival Director of the Space City New Music Festival, hosted in Houston, TX. ​ 

As a native of Texas, Quiroga earned his Bachelors of Music at the University of Houston under the guidance of Marcus K. Maroney and Rob Smith. He has most recently completed his Masters of Music in Composition at the University of oregon, where he studied under Robert Kyr and David Crumb. Quiroga has taught privately in the surrounding Houston area, focusing primarily in percussion education and performance since 2005. ​ 

Martín Quiroga currently resides in Houston, TX, where he continues to perform regularly and maintains a private studio in the greater Houston area. When not composing, he can be found at local coffee shops searching for new music or painting with oils at local parks with his loyal Dachshund.

Zach Gutierrez is a percussionist and educator from Houston, Texas. In addition to performing and teaching, he serves as the Executive Director of Space City Performing Arts. 

As an active performer, Zach has performed in events with the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, Peabody Percussion Group, Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, MUSIQA, The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps, Brazosport Symphony Orchestra, So Percussion Summer Institute, Sam Houston Percussion Academy, 3G Percussion, and Space City Performing Arts. In 2013, Zach was fortunate enough to be with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps when they were awarded the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award.

In 2018, Zach performed with his percussion chamber group, 3G Percussion, as the Guest Ensemble  at the Space City New Music Festival (SCNMF) in Houston, Texas. At SCNMF, Zach premiered works by Guest Composer Marcus Maroney as well as sixteen particpant composers from the United States, Mexico, and Germany.

Zach is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University studying with marimba virtuoso and esteemed pedagogue, Robert van Sice. He completed his undergraduate studies with Dr. Blake Wilkins and Alec Warren at the University of Houston.

Jacob Gutierrez is a native of Houston, Texas and enjoys a musical life of being a performer, teacher, and arts director. Jacob is currently the Artistic Director for Space City Performing Arts and enjoys collaborating with different artists from around world.

 Jacob specializes in percussion and has performed with various organizations around the United States and Canada including 3G Percussion, Percussive Arts Society, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, So Percussion Summer Institute, The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps, AURA Contemporary Ensemble, MUSIQA, Transitory Sound & Movement Collective and more.

He received his B.M. from the University of Houston in Instrumental Music Education and Percussion Performance studying with Blake Wilkins and Alec Warren. He is pursuing an M.M. in Percussion Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University studying with renowned percussionist, Robert Van Sice.

Recent Oregon transplant Linda Jenkins is an avid collaborative musician based in Denton, TX. Specializing in contemporary music, Linda frequently collaborates with local composers as a soloist and chamber musician. This year she commissioned a full recital of solo works for flute and piccolo featuring nine world premieres. During her tenure at the University of Oregon Linda was a stage manager for the Productions Department, where she ran concerts and recitals for guest ensembles, faculty recitals, and student concerts. Notable concerts included Chanticleer, Elizabeth Rowe, the Shanghai String Quartet, and Oregon Mozart Players. Linda has a B.M. from Bowling Green State University and a M.M. from the University of Oregon where she studied with Dr. Conor Nelson and Professor Molly Barth respectively. Currently, Linda attends the University of North Texas where she studies with Professor Terri Sundberg.

Sarek Gutierrez (b.1990) is a percussionist and drum set artist currently performing with 3G Percussion, a percussion trio co-founded with two of his brothers, Jacob and Zach. Sarek also works as a freelance musician in San Antonio, having previously performed in Italy, across Canada, and throughout the U.S. He has a passion for jazz and actively performs on vibraphone and drum set.  

Sarek is the Director of Development at Space City Performing Arts, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit performing arts organization based in Houston, Texas. The organization aims to promote unique performing arts collaborations in Houston.

Sarek completed his Master of Music degree at Western University studying percussion performance with Dr. Jill Ball, through a generous academic scholarship. Prior to coming to Western, Sarek studied abroad in Italy at the University of Urbino in Urbino, PU, Italy working with Jazz vibraphone artist, Marco Pacassoni. Sarek received his BM in music education and a Performer's Certificate from the University of Texas at San Antonio, studying with Dr. Graeme Francis and Sherry Rubins. 

Jeff Penalber (Pen-all-bur); a 2011 graduate of The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences, is an Audio Engineer born and raised in Houston, Texas. During his career, Jeff has toured the nation and worked with hundreds of world-class artists from all across the musical spectrum.

Currently he holds the position of Production Associate at Houston’s First Baptist Church - Downtown Campus. Jeff also consults for his company, DOC Audio, LLC; where he supports fine arts organizations all around the Houston metro area and its surrounding cities.

Jeff is happily married to the beautiful, Nicole Burgess, and together they raise their little music lover, Tennyson. “I’m truly blessed; these two girls are my world, and they let me live my dream,” he boasts..

“Thanks to the professional team at Space City, for their incredible work,  to all the extremely talented artists and composers, who devoted countless hours to accomplish such a ground breaking festival. Cannot wait for next year!”

Doc Audio, LLC

http://docaudio.net/

Joshua J. Gutierrez is a multimedia artist and musician from Houston, Texas. Joshua graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and a B.B.A in Economics. His pursuits focus on: the arts, culture and business. 

Joshua expanded his career to include photography after studying Ethnographic Film at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The concepts of holism, physical contextualization, and reflexivity inspire his work and give a unique point of view and style. 

Joshua has a wide spectrum of talents and experience including: cinematography, photography, audio engineering, producing, performing contemporary electronic works as well as experimental rock n’ roll. Notable works include RAGA (2013), MAMMALS (2016), and MIXTAPE 01 (2017). 

Joshua has composed various types of electronic works since 2002. The most recent work was a collaborative composition titled “Box Trap”, that was performed with 3G percussion for Space City Performing Arts in December of 2017.  

Joshua currently resides in San Antonio, Texas where he continues to work with local musicians, artists, and organizations from the surrounding Houston and Austin areas.