Gina Benalcázar López
About
Gina Benalcázar López is an Ecuadorian-Honduran-American composer and low brass specialist. Influenced by straight-ahead jazz, latin-jazz, and popular Latin American music, Gina has performed with and arranged/composed for various size bands ranging in style from Classical Chamber to Jazz Big Band and Salsa Bands.
She has worked with some of the world's most prolific band leaders and can be found playing with Lulada Club, The Broadway Sinfonietta, The Roy Hargrove Big Band, Etienne Charles’ Creole Soul, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, The Rufus Reid Big Band, Dee The Dee Bridgewater Big Band, Ulysses Owens Jr’s New Century Big Band, Helen Sung’s Big Band, and others along with subbing on Broadway with Moulin Rouge and Some Like It Hot.
Gina’s discography is expansive, credited her as both soloist and arranger/composer as a side-person. As a band leader Gina was selected as a recipient of Chamber Music America’s Performance Plus Grant which helped her record her debut album, “The BOUNCE” featuring her original compositions. Her next album is projected to release in February 2025.
My teaching style varies depending on the needs of my students, but generally we will work backwards from what you understand and work towards building connections to new concepts. My goal is that the instrument and improvisation become an extension of our bodies and ears so that we are able to play what we hear. This involves a lot of listening, transcribing, and understanding and applying theoretical concepts to our practice and performance.
I value technique in that it allows us to access our instruments without anxiety about our limitations. In talking about technique we focus on sight reading, scales, flexibility, sound, articulation, and transcription. I also value acquiring language and will aid students in being able to navigate chord changes from blues to more modern and modal. Students will leave with an in depth knowledge of jazz and it's components.
Trombone/Jazz Instructor with the Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy
Brass Instructor at Ocean Hill Collegiate
Administrative Faculty at the Jazz Institute at Bravard
Arranger and Trombonist with Lulada Club
Resident Composer for eGalitarian Brass Quinte