JOACHIM HORSLEY

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger Joachim Horsley is an exceptional American pianist who uses his favorite instrument to break musical barriers.

Having recently created original scores for Film and Television shows like HBOMax’s Gordita Chronicles, Batman: Soul of the Dragon and the hit Disney Channel Show Big City Greens, Horsley continues to scores his own story: a tale where the great composers of classical music infused their works with Afro-Caribbean rhythms.

“It’s an alternate universe: one where Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart are channeling Havana more than Vienna,” says Horsley. “To me, this is a way to meet old friends in a fresh context, giving our audiences a new take and a renewed appreciation for both the Classical world and the Caribbean cultures.”

The idea for this project started in 2015, after studying music in Cuba with his good friend and mentor Aldo Mazza, through his KOSA Cuba workshop. Cuban Rumba music, both in its sound and the way it’s created, made a lasting impression and inspired the first piece in this series. In 2016, Beethoven In Havana an arrangement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony in a Cuban style performed entirely by Horsley using the piano itself as a percussion instrument, was a viral hit gaining international attention and leading to the 2019 album Via Havana.

Many composers, musicians, and fans in the classical and Afro-Caribbean worlds share a mutual interest in the opposite sides of this genre divide. It’s Joachim Horsley’s hope that his merging of these two worlds opens minds, expands audiences and encourages exploration.