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, educator, and curator with an imaginative mind in the arts. As a performing musician, his performances have been admired for his sincerity, touch, agility and musical imagination.

Over the past several years, Zach has participated in events with the Peabody Percussion Group, Alarm Will Sound, MUSIQA, The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps, Ensemble Atlantica, Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, 3G Percussion, So Percussion, Now Hear This and has had appearances at The Kennedy Center, The Peggy and Yale Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, Western University, Lone Star College Contemporary Music Festival, and the Space City New Music Festival.

In 2013, Zach co-founded 3G Percussion with his brothers Sarek Gutierrez and Jacob Gutierrez. The group's performances have featured percussion chamber music by composers such as Alejandro Viñao, Toru Takemitsu, John Cage, Robert Honstein, James Romig, and more. 3G Percussion has performed primarily in Texas and internationally in Canadian cities such as Montreal, Toronto and London. While in Canada, 3G Percussion united with the Canadian mixed ensemble, Ensemble Atlantica to tour a new work for mixed chamber ensemble, Toc Toc Toc. Back in Texas, 3G Percussion has been featured on the Houston Public Media Radio Station, the San Antonio Current, and "Live & Local" on KRTU 91.7FM. In 2017, 3G Percussion collaborated with Transitory Sound and Movement Collective to present an hour long performance titled Freaks, Geeks, Beats, and Feet’s or Feats which featured Lynn Lane, sound and multimedia artist; Danielle Georgiou, Dallas dance artist; Ron Kiley, New York City film artist; and 3G Percussion.

Zach’s diverse career has led him into various musical activities including being Executive Director of Space City Performing Arts and a co-founder of the Space City New Music Festival (SCNMF), a vibrant international music festival designed to realize modern compositions. SCNMF has brought in participants from countries such as Mexico, Germany, Canada, and the across the United States. In 2018, SCNMF generated and premiered 17 newly composed works that were performed by festival participants and guest artists 3G Percussion, and Crystal Chu. In 2019, the Space City New Music Festival will feature guest artist Cameron Leach, Hub New Music, Daryl Robinson, and Guest composer Shih-Hui Chen.  

In 2019, Zach performed in the U.S. premiere of Where We Lost Our Shadows, a piece for orchestra, video, and soloists Shanya Dunkelman, Ali Setha, and Helga Davis. This event was part of The Human Journey, a collaboration between the Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art. Where We Lost Our Shadows recognized and depicted the timeless struggle of human migration and its many effects, while celebrating the resilient human spirit that instigates and survives it. Incorporating Qawwali raga and texts by Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan, it is the creation of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and Palestinian videographer Khaled Jarrar. This work was Co-commissioned by the Kennedy Center with Carnegie Hall, the American Composers Orchestra, London’s Southbank Centre, and Cal Performances.  

Zach Gutierrez completed his undergraduate studies in 2016 at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and is a licensed K-12 music teacher. In 2019, he completed his Master of Music degree from The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied with percussion pedagogue, Robert van Sice. In 2019, he will pursue a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut as a Havemeyer Scholarship recipient. 

Percussionist, educator, and administrative leader Jacob Gutierrez is crafting a career model of a true 21st century musician. With experience ranging from his touring percussion trio to performances at the Kennedy Center, Gutierrez is charting a career path of entrepreneurialism in tandem with award-winning musicianship.

Gutierrez is most known for his work in cultivating the percussion repertoire, creating evocative concert experiences that both entertain and educate. To this end, he and his two brothers co-founded 3G Percussion, a percussion trio that has toured in Texas and across Canada, and has been featured on multiple Texas radio and press outlets. 3G was also the anointed Guest Ensemble at the 2018 Space City New Music Festival, where he gave the world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s “Escape,” in addition to sixteen other works by composers from around the United States, Mexico, and Germany.

Outside 3G, Gutierrez remains active in soliciting new music—he is a member of several consortiums to commission new works. His career includes performances of percussion’s most celebrated works, including Kaija Saariaho’s “Six Japanese Gardens”, Joseph Schwantner’s “Velocities”, and Alejandro Vinao’s “Book of Grooves”. 

Looking to make as deep an impact as possible for the artistic community, Mr. Gutierrez also serves as Artistic Director of Space City Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as an educational resource for emerging artists. 

Now based in Baltimore, Gutierrez is pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute under renowned percussionist Robert Van Sice. Gutierrez holds a Bachelor of Music diploma in Education and Performance from the University of Houston, and a Master of Music diploma from Peabody. 

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.