María Elena Mendiola Orozco, a prominent Cuban orchestra conductor and music producer, was born on November 6, 1954, in Havana. She began her musical training in 1963, completing her studies in 1975, earning her high school diploma. She studied piano with César López. Two years later, specializing in orchestral conducting, she enrolled at the Instituto Superior de Arte (1110 Calle 120 between 9th and 13th, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana). There, she received classes from Gonzalo Romeu and Guennadi Dmitriac, among others.

She began her career in 1980 as guest conductor of the Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey Symphony Orchestras. In 1982, María Elena completed her high school studies. In 1985, she made her debut as guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra.

At the Recording and Publishing Company (EGREM) (1008 3rd Street between 10th and 12th Streets, Miramar, Playa, Havana), María Elena Mendiola has worked as a music producer since 1988, producing numerous albums. Some of them have won awards at various events. Proof of this is the Cubadisco Grand Prize (2001) for the anthology The Guitarist’s Work of Leo Brouwer, eight volumes; and for A Todo Piano and Cuban Classics, volumes II and III, awards in the Compilation and Symphonic Music categories in 2003.

In 1999, he participated in the IX Ibero-American Summit held in Havana, at the gala offered to the heads of state and government.

She also worked as a professor at the National School of Art (120th Street between 9th and 13th Streets, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana) for a period of fifteen years. There, she held the position of head of the chamber music and orchestral practice department. She created the PARNASO collection in 2002, with the aim of collecting the works of Cuban composers and concert music performers.

As a guest conductor in 2004, she directed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Cossi fan tutte with the Havana Soloists Orchestra. In December of that same year, María Elena performed another season as a guest of the National Opera, this time with Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème.”

The following year, 2005, he performed at the Esteban Salas Baroque Music Festival, leading the Havana Soloists Chamber Orchestra. Around that time, he produced the CD Álbum de Oro Jorge Luis Prats. He was also awarded the Concert Soloist Prize at Cubadisco (2005).

Along with Solistas de La Habana, in 2010, he participated in, among other projects, the recording of an album of songs by Gerardo Alfonso, to commemorate the anniversary of man’s first visit to the moon; and in a trilogy of albums featuring songs by Silvio Rodríguez, produced by singer Augusto Enríquez.

In October 2011, this maestro appeared, raising her baton in front of the Villa Clara Symphony Orchestra, in a concert held at La Caridad Theater in Santa Clara. On that occasion, she performed works such as Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide”; Falla’s Suite No. 2 from the ballet The Three-Cornered Hat (Los vecinos, Farruca, and Danza final); and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto in D major, Op. 61 for violin and orchestra (Allegro ma non troppo, Larghettto, and Rondo allegro).

This year, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of her artistic career, she gave a concert at the Minor Basilica of the Convent of San Francisco de Asís (Oficios e/ Amargura and Churruca, Old Havana, Havana). The concert featured Solistas de la Habana in the smaller formats that Havana adopts, performing music corresponding to the Baroque style. Guests on stage included the duo of Niurka González and Maribel Navarro, and soprano Milagros de los Ángeles.

He has taught workshops for groups, including the National Concert Band of Ecuador. He has performed in various major theaters throughout Cuba, as well as on radio and television. Along with Omara Portuondo and conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, he performed in the Quiéreme mucho galas. He also participated in the staging of Gonzalo Roig’s zarzuela, Cecilia Valdés.

María Elena Mendiola has toured both nationally and internationally. During her recent years, she has brought her excellent work to venues in Colombia and Central American nations. As artistic director, she has directed the festivals La Fiesta de la Guitarra, Aires Americanos, and the National Chamber Music Festival.

Throughout his artistic career, he has conducted the leading orchestras in the Cuban musical scene. These include the Soloists of Havana, the Havana Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras of Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey. He has accompanied prominent figures and groups such as Joaquín Clerch, Jorge Luis Zamora, Ileana Bautista, Ernán López-Nussa, Evelio Tieles, Alfredo Muñoz, the Exaudi Choir, María Victoria del Collado, and María Felicia Pérez.

María Elena Mendiola Orozco, in addition to being the principal conductor of the Havana Soloists Chamber Orchestra, a position she has held since 2009, is the president of the National Program for Symphonic Development and a professor in the orchestral conducting department of the Instituto Superior de Arte (1110 Calle 120 between 9th and 13th, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana).

Among the awards he has collected throughout his artistic life are the Cubadisco Grand Prize (2001) and awards in the Compilation and Symphonic Music categories in 2003.