Composer and conductor Armando Bayolo’s musical identity blends traditions from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States which creates a brilliant kaleidoscope of sounds, colors – and a distinctly individual style of composition.

Armando’s “Last Breaths,” setting the last words of black men murdered by police, represented a paradigm shift in wind ensemble music according to those present at its world premiere. His music combines “the audacity of popular music, the verve-filed rhythmic language of Latin America, and the pugnacity of postmodern classicism into a heady, formidable concoction” (Christian Carey, Sequenza 21).

In 2005, Armando founded Great Noise Ensemble in Washington DC. He led the ensemble as Artistic Director for 15 years, presenting contemporary music to audiences throughout the Washington region and the United States.

He is currently an associate conductor for the Illinois Modern Ensemble at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is on the faculty for Music Theory, Composition and Production.