Meet Executive Director Angelica Cortez

The Suzuki Association of the Americas is thrilled to appoint Angelica Cortez as Executive Director of the organization. Angelica (she/her) is a Los Angeles-born arts leader who works at the intersection of music, education, and justice. She began her tenure with the SAA in January, joining a long legacy of educators who believe in the fundamental power of music education and its ability to impact the lives of young people.

Angelica previously served as Interim President and CEO of El Sistema USA, where she led fundraising efforts, strategic partnerships, programming, and managed the general operations of the organization. She worked on Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA), Gustavo Dudamel’s signature program, and launched YOLA National, which included annual Symposia for administrators and educators, music festivals and college support for young people, and several national and international tours. Angelica has degrees in trumpet performance and teaching from University of California Davis, Longy School of Music, and Bard College.

Where did your passion for the arts begin?

When I picked up a trumpet in the fourth grade, it was very easy for me to fall in love with making music. I particularly fell in love with the practice room—getting familiar with my instrument and how I learned. I had a lot going on as a kid, so finding the time and space to be in a practice room and just focus on one thing at a time was where I really fell in love with the arts.

How did you know you wanted to turn that passion into a career?

Stepping into a classroom and teaching for the first time was the moment my career in the arts solidified. I appreciated watching young people have a light bulb go off when they learned a new note or piece or came in excited because they figured out how to play something they’d heard on the radio. I appreciate finding meaningful connection points with youth.

How has your experience prepared you for this tremendous leadership opportunity you’re about to embark on?

My background is in teaching. I did a lot of teaching after I graduated college, both to pay the bills and because I wasn’t exactly sure what was next for me. I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of really great educators. My experience at the LA Phil was also unique in that it required me to wear a lot of different hats. At times, I was a teaching artist in the classroom, jumping in and playing trumpet with kids, or conducting an ensemble. Other times, I was an administrator, meaning I was setting up a production that meant getting 200 kids on and off the stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall. I was also managing artists. If there was an event with Gustavo Dudamel, I would work with our team to make sure that he was taken care of—that we had the rep he wanted to work with the musicians on, and that we understood his artistic vision and could execute it well. Working at the LA Phil prepared me for crafting excellent programs, performances, and productions. The other core part of what I did was working with parents and students: the people that we’re most responsible to as teachers. Young people are the primary thing that drives me, and I think of the various roles I’ve had as primarily in service to them and our communities. In my position at El Sistema, I’ve learned a lot more about the ins and outs of running an organization. I’ve learned how to work with funders, who are ultimately believers in the work that we do. Ultimately, the stars couldn’t have aligned better to allow me to continue this work with the SAA. What an opportunity there is for me to be able to put all those hats on again.

Talk me through your short-term and long-term goals for the SAA.

In the short term, my goal is to bring stability to the organization. The Suzuki Association is an incredible legacy organization that is undergoing a major transition. You have a 30-year leader who did a wonderful job setting up the organization and building on this incredible philosophy and pedagogy given to us by Dr. Suzuki. As someone who hasn’t been as deeply immersed in the Suzuki Method as I know a lot of the teachers in our membership are, I think of myself as a facilitator in this role. My priority is to learn a lot and gain insight into what our members, teachers, and board hope to see in the future.

Dr. Suzuki’s pedagogy should be in the hands of significantly more people than it is right now. In the long term, I hope to be a bridge between our history and our future. I tend to approach my work in questions. One of my big questions for the Suzuki Association is how we can get this pedagogy into more teachers’ hands and ultimately more young people’s hands. What partnerships are necessary for us to be able to do that? What people in our circles are necessary to be able to do that?

The Suzuki philosophy is so rooted in love and compassion. Those values are so critical right now, for youth in particular, as we’re navigating either the beginning or the middle of the pandemic. I want to amplify that message and bring us back to that core. What’s interesting about all philosophies and all musical pedagogy is that everyone’s interpretation is different. 15 people can read the same sentence and get 15 different meanings out of it. The other question I have—especially knowing our members and how many different teachers and teacher trainers and philosophies live within the realm of Suzuki—is how do we make space for all of those different philosophies and methods and ways of teaching? How do we make space for all of us to navigate difference and collectively continue to share this work in a way that doesn’t compromise Dr. Suzuki’s pedagogy, but in a way that does mean that it is much more accessible?

How would you characterize your leadership style?

As I mentioned, I like to act as a facilitator. I certainly have strong thoughts on a particular direction that we should go. But primarily, I lean on people for their strengths and I want to empower folks around me. So many people believe in what we’re doing and so many people are experts in the Suzuki Method. My goal is to make sure that those people have a platform to do their work really, really well. I’m certainly not someone who comes in the door and wants to burn the system down and start from scratch, and I doubt I would have gotten hired if that was the case. My methodology is to treat everything as though I’m both a leader and a learner.

How do you bring social justice into your work?

Social justice is my work. That is the core of what I do and it is in every aspect of my being. With justice work in general, nobody is a finished product. I’m still learning. We as an organization will be learning for as long as we exist. My approach is generally to lean on the experts in the room. The first question I have for our membership is how we can amplify the voices of those who have not been amplified yet. We know already that BIPOC artists are often not given space in classical music. How can I as an individual learn from folks in our community who we haven’t heard from as much? The second thing I’m thinking about is how we can be more accessible and reach different audiences. The Suzuki Association is not the only organization people are demanding to be more accessible. All of our music education and orchestral organizations have to change to stay relevant. How can the SAA lead the way on that? What can we do differently to make sure that we’re an organization that is at the front end of social justice work, not on the back end? We should show other organizations what it looks like to hold meetings in a justice-oriented way, where we honor more than just one voice at a table. All of my work thus far has been about how we can make music education more accessible to more young people, particularly those who face barriers to accessing music education because it’s so expensive. I don’t plan to change that here, and I think that Dr. Suzuki’s approach lends itself well to that. 

What are your hopes for the future?

My ultimate mission in my work is to make sure that all young people have access to high-quality music education. I’ve seen it transform young people and give them space to be who they are, to learn who they are, to challenge themselves, to find community, and to build relationships with mentors and peers. My hope for the organization is that as many teachers and young people as possible can access it. I also want to see the Suzuki Method as a leading space in the field. When people are looking for how to learn about music, social justice, and equity work, I want them to think, let’s look at the Suzuki Association. 

Tell me about some of the mentors that have impacted your philosophy.

The first group that comes to mind is my parents. They had me when they were far too young to have kids, but worked harder than anyone I know to make sure I had what I needed. They taught me about the value of hard work, community, and leading with love. Ultimately, and probably like many of our members, the people who impacted me most were educators. I had several trumpet teachers that taught me a lot about how to practice. Chris Still at the LA Phil taught me how to practice meticulously, which helped me build other healthy habits. Another teacher, Ed Carol, pushed me to focus on the things that I wanted to do in learning and playing music, rather than thinking about what I was supposed to do. I also look to people like Vijay Gupta, a violinist and founder at Street Symphony Project Inc, as a mentor who has helped me think about what impact I want to have on the field. I definitely call my friends Alex Laing and Lecolion Washington when I feel lost, and Leni Boorstin from the LA Phil when I feel like I need to be reminded of the importance of our work. I’m really fortunate to have my colleagues from Sphinx LEAD, which is a program that supports leaders of color who are executives in the arts. My list goes on and on—ultimately my network and community are the biggest influence on my work. I’m fortunate that my circle is full of people who are all focused on how we can use the arts to impact our communities and to create transformative change.

Are there any artists, speakers, or thinkers who have shaped you?

Definitely. Oh my gosh, where do I start? Adrienne Maree Brown does a lot of work in social justice and change management. She’s someone who I think about and turn to often when I’m stuck or navigating really difficult change. bell hooks is another personal hero of mine. I read a lot, so a lot of my mentors and guiding partners are authors and writers. Sonia Sotomayor’s autobiography was one of the first times I read something that made me feel like I could be a little less afraid to dream big. On the musical front, there are just endless examples. I loved watching Dudamel conduct, and getting to watch him work with young people and ignite energy, holding them to their own artistry, had a big impact on me. I love Natalia Lafourcade, and watching her artistry develop over the years and get more connected to her roots and her home was really influential on me too. Also, as a kid, I had Wynton Marsalis’ playing on repeat—literally anything he played I must’ve listed to a thousand times each. I also loved listening to him talk about music, its history, and its importance. Certainly, I could go with a nerdy list of trumpet players, but I’ll spare you from that. 

How do you unwind and recharge?

I’m a runner. I ran a marathon just before the pandemic hit and so I’ve kept that habit up. I also love cooking. I’m trying to master my grandma’s flour tortillas, and they’re very difficult. I don’t have it down just yet. I’ve also been trying to get down a good pozole recipe. I’m newly a bread baker because I’m another pandemic sell-out. I also write almost every day. I have a really incredible community in the same sphere of music and justice work that I love hanging out with. And I also obviously love music. I genuinely listen to everything.

What message would you like to give the SAA membership right now?

Change and transition are incredibly difficult. This transition is just getting started. I want to make sure everyone knows how grateful I am to be stepping into an organization that was so well set up by its former 30-year leader, Pam Brasch. I really want to honor her work and honor all that she’s done to get the organization to where it is. While I am well aware that the membership has a lot of questions about me, and even though I’m not necessarily as versed in the Suzuki Method as many folks in our membership are, I’m here to help make the organization stronger. I’m not here to come and completely change the organization overnight. I want to honor it and I’m grateful to be part of its legacy.