For Santiago Gutierrez, having his arrangement of the Haitian hymn “Mari Manman Nou” performed at Lincoln Center is a dream come true. 

The multi-talented composer in residence at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph has a unique and diverse resume that includes awards for composing, performing, and producing traditional Latin music. 

Gutierrez came to America in 2022 from Cali, Colombia, a city known for its salsa dancing, and got his start in music when he began singing at 16 after he joined a choir in Cali. 

“I had always been exposed to music since we have musicians in my family, including my sister Sasha, who is also here at the [co-cathedral] as a cantor,” he explained. “But the choir sparked something in me and I developed a passion for performing Latin and sacred music. I ultimately knew this was something I wanted to devote my life to.” 

In 2012, Gutierrez moved to Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, to study in a prestigious music program at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He enrolled as a voice major but, through class assignments, developed a love for composing and chose a different path. He ultimately graduated with a degree in music composition. 

Gutierrez left Colombia in 2021 and enrolled in the master’s program at the Manhattan School of Music. He graduated a year later and began a summer internship as a singer at the co-cathedral to work with music director Alejandro Zuleta and associate music director Cristina María Castro. 

“This was when ‘Music @ CoCath’ was just beginning,” Gutierrez recalled. 

He said he met Zuleta through his sister, who worked with him at the Opera Next Door music program in Bed-Stuy, where Zuleta was also the director. 

Gutierrez ultimately became the orchestrator of that program, and his work in that role led Zuleta to invite him to write music for the co-cathedral. 

Then, after last year’s Black History Month concert, for which Gutierrez wrote music, Zuleta installed him as the cathedral’s composer-in-residence. 

One of the rewards of Zuleta’s faith in Gutierrez is “Mari Manman Nou,” which was first performed at the co-cathedral last February and will be performed at Lincoln Center on Sept. 26 at a concert featuring the vocal ensemble Voices of the New. The ensemble is part of the larger group, Voices of Ascension, a New York City-based non-profit dedicated to spreading the influence of choral music. 

Castro explained that Lincoln Center was looking for Latin American works, but the Haitian community was often overlooked. 

“They are definitely part of the Latin central influence from the Caribbean, and it was unique that Santiago was able to submit that work and be part of that program,” Castro said. 

Even though he’s not Haitian, Gutierrez noted the Haitian and Colombian cultures share similar musical roots. 

“I feel very close to the Haitian community,” Gutierrez said. “For this hymn, I took a lot of my love for traditional Latino-American choral writing, which is something that I miss very dearly. 

“This arrangement, this piece of music, has a lot of inspiration in the way that Latin-American tradition has shaped choral music to its own identity.” 

Aside from his work being performed at Lincoln Center, Gutierrez has a busy fall schedule. He will be working as a director alongside Zuleta and Castro on the upcoming co-cathedral production of “The Path of Miracles,” based on the life of St. James, and he will be directly involved in the arranging of the music for the co-cathedral’s Christmas concert.

Zuleta said Gutierrez’s work strongly factors into what music at the co-cathedral tries to achieve. 

“What we are doing here is trying to find out what a music ministry can be and can look like,” Zuleta explained. “We pride ourselves on being not your average church choir in what we are trying to accomplish. … One mission is to make awe-inspiring music that we believe has the ability to inspire people to connect with something beyond themselves.” 

According to Zuleta, another aspect of his ministry is to introduce a multicultural element within the community so everyone feels represented. 

To achieve that goal, Zuleta said it’s important to listen to the choral music that people of different cultures contribute, such as Gutierrez’s Black History Month performance of the Haitian Creole hymn. 

“We wanted to focus on other black communities that have contributed to American culture, and one of those is the Haitian community, which is very dear to us,” Zuleta said. “We have been singing their hymns and their music in Mass, and this past year, we included the hymn Santiago arranged. Santiago’s role in our organization is helping us reimagine what a music ministry can be.” 

Zuleta added that very few music ministries include new choral music, which is one reason they are “happy” to have Santiago. 

Gutierrez relishes his time working at the co-cathedral and his role of navigating between the worlds of classical Western music as well as the Hispanic heritage music he was trained in. 

“It’s very exciting to see a place like this that is a very interesting combination of folk, a very traditional approach to faith, as well as a very inviting and a very welcoming space for art and conversation,” Gutierrez said. 

“As a contemporary musician, I feel that I had never really found a space like this that is so open to aesthetics, different perspectives on art, and the range of different musical styles that I have encountered here,” he added. “I have a desire and thirst for exploring new corners of music that I have not explored before.” 

St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral rector, Father Christopher Heanue, said he is delighted with the exemplary work Gutierrez is doing. 

“We take pride at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph to be a place where creativity and imagination thrive,” Father Heanue said. “Participating in the creative process is to make ‘ex nihilo’ (out of nothing), which reminds us how God created the beauty that surrounds us from nothing. 

“I am proud to allow Santiago this opportunity for his career and his faith.”

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MARY OUR MOTHER 

Mary, Our Mother, we come to you. 

In you, we find Jesus. 

When we get to look like you, 

Jesus will be fully in us. 

We admire you. 

You are full of grace. 

We tell you: Hail, God is with you! 

We sing for you songs that come from Heaven. 

We are happy to see that God comes from your heart. 

For God to meet with you, 

He passed through you, Mary. 

When we have to find Him, where can we go? 

We won’t find Him anywhere else but within you.