CreArtBox creates and produces live art performances, fusing classical and contemporary music with original ideas encouraged by multidisciplinary interaction. Our programs are designed to support professional artists, encourage the creation of new meaningful work, make world-class performances accessible to everyone regardless of background or economic circumstance, inspire and educate future generations, revitalize local communities, and nurture new ways of human expression.
Celebrated by The New Yorker as one of its "art and music top picks", by Time Out as an "ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events" and by Broadway World as “a wholly authentic, visually and aurally compelling experience”, CreArtBox has solidified its presence as one of the preeminent classical music organizations in New York City.
This organization was founded in New York City in 2013 by pianist Josefina Urraca and flutist Guillermo Laporta, who continue to serve as the organization’s artistic directors. The project was originally conceived in 2006 in Europe as "Cre.Art Project" by Guillermo Laporta and clarinetist and performance creator Tagore Gonzalez.
With its headquarters in New York City and Asturias, Spain, CreArtBox develops an array of distinctive platforms to pursue its mission, including a music festival in Queens, New York, a printed magazine, a classical music streaming platform, a live music podcast, international touring performances, a residency/commissioning program for composers, and a festival to develop the arts in rural Spain.
The type of performance that most defines the identity of CreArtBox can be referred to as a “visual concert". Visual art and theatrical design techniques are utilized to enhance the audience's listening experience of live classical and contemporary music while respecting the original musical composition. These multimedia performances are often presented in medium-size venues that allow the audience to be fully immersed in the atmosphere of the production created by lights and projections. CreArtBox also performs more traditional chamber music concerts that have taken the group to Japan, Spain, the UK, Canada, and different states on the east coast of the US.
Original full theatrical touring shows are also produced (mostly labeled as interdisciplinary), including the opera-ballet "Two Roads" (2020), "Visuality" (2012/14), the opera Noctum (2011), the musical "London the Show" (2009), and "Cre.Art Project I" (2006).
CreArtBox works with visual artists, designers, dancers, and other creative minds to craft multi-layered performances centered around classical music, operating with a roster of world-class classical musicians, including members of orchestras such as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the BBC Orchestra, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Grants and awards from public and private institutions sustain CreArtBox's nonprofit mission alongside a group of generous individual supporters, maintaining steady yearly growth. Major supporters include the New York State Council on the Arts, the Amphion Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, Spain Arts and Culture, the Asturias government, and Queens Council for the Arts.
Read our full organization overview
CreArtBox Inc
Board
Guillermo Laporta, President
Josefina Urraca, Treasurer
I-Chin Chiang, Secretary
Staff
Executive producer & Co-Artistic Director
Guillermo Laporta
Co-Artistic Director
Josefina Urraca
Director of Photography
Tao Ho
Visual Art supervisor
Sarah K. Williams
Cinematographer
Guillermo Ordás
Would you like to join us?
Share your skills and experience with us (info@creartbox.nyc)Advisory Board
Todd Reynolds
Joshua Penman
Lewis Lockwood
Sebastian Currier
History of the organization
November 2022 - CreArtBox receives the NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) Support for Organizations Grant.
November 2022 - CreArtBox was invited to perform at the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society.
October 2022 - CreArtBox was invited to perform at the Mildford Theater in Pennsylvania as part of the Kindred Spirit Series.
September 2022 - CreArtBox presented the CreArt Music Festival Winter Edition at the Blue Gallery in Manhattan. In this edition,
the lineup of composers was: Granados, Saint-Saens, Caroline Shaw, Annamaria Kowalsky, Nikolayeva, Nico Muhly, Hannah Selin, Michael van der Aa, Mozart, Brian Wysocki, Ravel, Shostakovich and Nadia Boulanger. The 3 nights Festival was presented as a trilogy called Fragile Form. Visual art and theatrical design techniques enhance the audience's listening experience of classical and contemporary music while respecting the original musical composition. CreARtBox collaborated with Sarah K. Williams for the stage design.
August 2022 - CreArtBox presented the 2nd edition of its 8 nights Festival in Spain for the development of Rural Areas (ADAMR).
June 2022 - CreArtBox collaborated again with the Queens Public Library to present its live podcast. Also, CreArtBox was invited to perform at the Hunters Point Library as part as the Queens Rising, a multi-disciplinary arts & culture celebration, designed to highlight our borough’s cultural & creative diversity. Taking place throughout June 2022.
May 2022 - The Chutzpah! Kibbitz Conversation Series peeks behind the velvet drapes of the classical concert hall with a program of exquisite works by composers Ernest Bloch and Paul Schoenfield. Then, join host Iris Bahr and Chutzpah! Artistic Managing Director Jessica Gutteridge for an intimate conversation with pianist Josefina Urraca and flutist Guillermo Laporta about life, love, music, and what conductors are really like.
May 2022 - CreArtBox was invited to perform at the Chaminade Music Club of Yonkers is celebrating its 126th Anniversary.
May 2022 - CreArtBox started a new partnership with the Queens Public Library. In partnership with the Queens Public Library, CreArtBox presented a live podcast music series that utilizes classical music to trigger a conversation about art, culture, society, and more. Designed as a hybrid talk show / chamber music concert and published in podcast format (with a live audience), this program delves into the intriguing minds of musicians, serving as a gateway for new audiences to enter the wild and profound world of classical music. Each episode centers around a different theme (a period of time, a specific composer, a particular piece, etc). Guest artists participate in a lively discussion moderated by a host, and with a grand piano on stage, musical examples and full pieces are performed.
April 2022 - CreArtBox presented the CreArt Music Festival Spring Edition. In this edition,
the lineup of composers was: Timo Andres, Haydn, Schubert, Shostakovich, Annamaria Kowalsky, Nikolayeva, Schumann, Mozart, Brian Wysocki, Joaquin Turinat, Gustav Mahler and Cullyn Murphy. Highlights of the program included Piano Trio by Timo Andres;
the Piano Quartet by Gustav Mahler; the Surprise Symphony by Haydn, Joaquin Turina's piano quartet and Shostakovich's trio op.8. CreArtBox developed new collaboration with visual artists Tao Ho and Sarah K. Williams.
April 2022 - CreArtBox was invited to the Culture Lab Live Stream Series to present music by Bach, Nikolayeva and Schumann.
March 2022 - CreArtBox announced the winners of its "Call for submissions of classical contemporary music program". This call encouraged composers to submit their work in order to nourish and diversify the upcoming season of the organization. CreArtBox provides the composers with a platform for collaborating, recording, and presenting their work to the public. CreArtBox received over 500 applications for this program. The selected composers were: Annamaria Kowalsky, Brian Wysocki and Cullyn Murphy.
March 2022 - CreArtBox performed in the Anna Maria Kellen Concert Hall as part of the Live SOUNDS music Series.
January 2022 - CreArtBox and its new organization based in Spain (The Association
for the Arts Development in Rural Areas of Spain) were awarded with the support from the government of Asturias.
December 2021 - CreArtBox receives the NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) Support for
Organizations Grant.
December 2021 - CreArtBox presented the CreArtMusic Festival Winter Edition. In this edition,
the lineup of composers was: Timo Andres, Anna Clyne, Marius Diaz de Leon, John Harbison, Ernest Bloch, Toru Takemitsu,
Ludwig van Beethoven, Steve Reich, Leoš Janáček, Arvo Pärt, Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Georg Philipp Telemann,
Andre Jolivet, Gustav Holst and Manuel de Falla. Highlights of the program included Piano Trio by Timo Andres;
the Piano Quartet by Gustav Mahler; the sonata for flute, viola, and harp by Claude Debussy; Piano Phase by Steve Reich;
The Planets by Gustav Holst; and the First String Quartet by Leoš Janáček. On Saturday and Sunday mornings the festival presented
the program “Breakfast with the artists” where composers, musicians, and visual artists gathered. With this idea, CreArtBox wanted to approach the
local community in a more direct way than in regular performances.
September 2021 - CreArtBox received a City Artist Corp grant for its new
project Queens Preludes and Lighting the dark.
August 2021 - CreArtBox established a new organization in Spain, The Association
for the Arts Development in Rural Areas of Spain. Its inaugural project was the Leiguarda Music
Festival sponsored by the Belmonte de Miranda City Council and Caja Rural with artist Cellist
Beatriz Blanco, American baritone Nathaniel Sullivan, pianist Josefina Urraca, the flutist
Guillermo Laporta, composer Marcos Fernández and host Laude Martinez This Festival received
recognition from the National and Regional Television in Spain, Telecinco, Asturias Public
Television, and was featured in TV programs such as Asturias Semanal and De Romandela.
July 2021 - The Amphion Foundation and Queens Council on the Arts reiterated their
monetary support to CreArtBox.
May 2021 - CreArtBox launched an interactive "Web Experience Music Festival"
including classical and contemporary repertoire for solo flute, piano, violin and cello, and
baritone and piano, including Flashes and illuminations by John Harbison, Luciform by Mario Diaz de
Leon, Mozart’s Sonata KV 283, Violin Chaconne and Doch weichet, ihr tollen” from BWV 8
by Bach, and Britten’s 3rd suite for cello. On this project, CreArtBox commissioned 5 visual
art pieces to Robert Sirvent, Hsiao-Chu Hsia, Sara C. Sun, Sarah K. Williams, and Marieken
Cochius.
April 2020 - During COVID 19 CreArtBox launched a series of
online concerts, with a selection of archive performances, including unseen footage, behind the
scenes, and interviews.
February 2020 - A second production of the opera/ballet “Two Road” was
presented by the Tank Theater. Two Roads materialize the inner thoughts of Elle, scrutinizing the
choices that she made throughout her life in an apocryphal attempt to write a letter to a future
self, a reincarnation or a future generation. Elle’s character is constructed overlapping a
conglomeration of performers that fluctuate in time & space. Among the artists involved were:
dancers Mary Taylor Hennings and Can Wang, soprano Ariadne Greif, baritone Nathaniel Sullivan,
actress Julie Berndt, and pianist Josefina Urraca.
December 2019 - CreArtBox presents AWAVE at the Ryogoku Concert Hall in Japan.
This is the 2nd collaboration with the costume and set designer Mizuko Kaji, (who previously worked
at Visuality in 2016). AWAVE was a multimedia concert experience for flute, piano, video, and
electronics.
November 2019 - As part of the CreArt Music Series, CreArtBox collaborated with
the Arte Quartet to present Brandenburg's 5th Concerto, a new premier with music by Evan O. Adams,
and other compositions by Britten and Philip Lasser.
November 2019 - Bay Ridge Concert Series presented AWAVE, a new creation by
Guillermo Laporta and CreArtBox. This was the New York CD presentation.
October 2019 - CreArtBox and Parhelion Trio joined forces to kick off their
2019/20 concert series in an evening inspired by Claude Debussy’s Songs of Bilitis.
September 2019 - CreArtBox’s members Josefina Urraca and Guillermo Laporta
were selected to be artists in Residence at the Culture Lab.
August 2019 - After receiving support by the Queens Council on the Arts, CreArtBox
presented the 2nd edition of the CreArt Music Festival at the Plaxall gallery. This new edition of
the Festival counted also with the support of the Spanish Embassy, Steinway & Sons,
LIC-Artists, and Culture LAB.
Festival partnerships include: Queens Theater, Flushing Town Hall, and Welcome Home Real
Estate.
CreArtBox presented one of the most emotionally weighted pieces of music ever written, Quartet for
the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen, alongside Mandalas in the Rubble by Dai Wei. The ensemble also
produced “Two Road”, a chamber opera for mezzo-soprano, physical actor, choir &
dance ensemble, electronic, piano, percussion and movable set. Although framed as an opera due to
his musical nature, this performance embraces the set, the choreography, and the light and sound
design, as part of the dramaturgy elements that are written in the “libretto” following
a parallel creative process.
July 2019 - CreArtBox was selected to be an resident ensemble at the Avaloch
Farm.
March 2019 - CreArtBox performed at the Renee Weiller Concert Hall as part of the
CreArt Music Series, music by Pulitzer Award winner, Ned Rorem, Mendelssohn, and Haydn.
In this month, CreArtBox’s musicians recorded their 2nd album, AWAVE, at the Oktaven audio
Studio.
January 2019 - CreArt Music Series continued at the Renee Weiller Concert Hall.
The music Series is supported by the Amphion Foundation and Alice M. Ditson Fund.
During this edition of the Music Series, CreArtBox presented Awave, a music creation of Guillermo
Laprota.
During this month, CreArtBox attended the CMA’s National Conference. The CMA’s National
Conference is an annual gathering providing ensemble music professionals the opportunity to hear
inspiring speakers, engage with industry leaders, network with peers, and more.
December 2018 - CreArtBox performed music by Greg Karnilaw at the Anthology Film
Archive and music for flute and piano at the Chaminade Music Club.
August 2018 - 1st edition of the CreArt Music Festival at the Plaxall Gallery.
This Festival received accolades from different newspaper such as:
“CreArt Festival offers unique take on classical music”
Queens Ledger
“If you need a break from your same old Spotify playlist, and crave your culture fix, mark
your calendars and reserve your tickets for the CreArt Music Festival, where you’re bound to
discover something unique and unexpected”
QGuide
CreArtBox received support from the Queens Council on the Arts.
June 2018 - CreArtBox presented their educational program, CreArt ED, at the
Plaxall Gallery. CreArtED is a modern music education program created to spread the love and
values of music through engaging and collaborative programs in the 5 boroughs of New York.
May 2018 - CreArtBox performed music by composers Massenet, Chaminade, Faure,
Franck, Debussy, Satie, Gounodat the Chaminade Club in Yonkers. This month, CreArtBox received
the Amphion Foundation grant for the development of the CreArt Music Series.
April 2018 - CreArtBox was invited to perform at the Arts Month at the New York
Society for Ethical Culture. The New York Society for Ethical Culture is a humanist community
dedicated to ethical relationships, social justice, and environmental stewardship for over 142
years.
March 2018 - While a full orchestra usually performs Mahler’s most popular
symphony, (4th) Erwin Stein helped bring it to life for chamber orchestra in a unique arrangement.
CreArtBox collaborated with Le Train Bleu, and conductor Ransom Wilson to perform this
masterpiece.
January 2018 - CreArt Music Series continued with new collaborations with
Beethoven's scholar and biographer, Lewis Lockwood, for the presentation of the Kakadu variations
for piano trio by Beethoven. CreArtBox continued its mission working with living composers
presenting a new piece written by the American Composer, Joshua Penman, resident composer of the
ensemble.
November 2017 - CreArtBox started a new collaboration with Bay Ridge Concert
Series. CreArtBox’s directors presented their first album, duoh.
Bay Ridge Concert Series is a brand new concert series taking place in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. These
series enrich and celebrate the Bay Ridge Community by sponsoring an eclectic lineup of musicians
and musical groups from jazz, classical, Latin, and folk genres.
October 2017 - New edition of the CreArt Music Series with the collaboration of
bandoneonist JP Jofre, who has been repeatedly highlighted by the New York Times and praised as one
of today’s leading artists by Great Performers at Lincoln Center.
CreArtBox’s musicians were violinist Brigid Coleridge, cellist Julia Yang, flutist Guillermo
Laporta, and pianist Josefina Urraca, piano.
May 2017 - The CreArt Music Series continued at the New York Society for Ethical
Culture. This music Series is awarded by the Amphion Foundation. CreArtBox performed music by David
Lang, Meredith Monk, Anna Clyne (New York premiere of Just As They Are), Timo Andres, Joshua Penman
(World premiere of Dawnlight), Dvorak, and Telemann.
Musicians included violinist Johnna Wu, flutist Guillermo Laporta, clarinetist Nick Gallas, cellist
Julia Yang, and pianist Josefina Urraca, piano.
December 2016 - CreArtBox received the Queens Council on the Arts Grants to
present Visuality at the Queens Council on the Arts. Visuality is a music and theater production
which develops a narrative inspired by studies by Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers, where a
psychoanalyst explores the deepest thoughts of his mind through music, poetry, and observation.
Artists included: clarinetist Jonathan Cohen, flutist Guillermo Laporta, violinist Clara Vazquez,
cellist Mindy Asher, percussionist Robby Bowen, pianist Josefina Urraca, dancer and choreographer
Marissa Maislen, actor Jacopo Rampini, costume designer Mizuko Kaji, and light designer Jennifer
Fok.
This same month CreArtBox’s musicians Josefina Urraca and Guillermo Laporta presented their
debut album with music from the end of the XIX century and beginning of the XX at the Diaz Caneja
Foundation in Spain.
November 2016 - CreArtBox presented the 2nd concert of the 1st edition of the
CreArt Music Series with guest artists Todd Reynolds (founder of the Ethel String Quartet) and Luke
DuBois. On these performances, audiences of all ages gathered together to experience a unique event
where classical music meets visual art creating an exceptional experience.
September 2016 - CreArtBox presented the first edition of the CreArt Music Series
with three guest composers: Sebastian Currier, Judd Greenstein, and Joshua Penman. CreArtBox
performed their music among Gaubert and Beethoven' compositions. Joshua Penman was the 2nd resident
composer of the ensemble. The CreArt Music Series was presented at the Mary Flager Concert
Hall.
January 2016 - CreArtBox performed at Le Poisson Rouge as the winners of the SVA
Chamber Music Competition (the country’s only major chamber music competition in which the
judging criteria include both artistic excellence and innovative event design). This performance
was sponsored by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with Chamber Music America.
October 2015 - CreArtBox’s musicians Josefina Urraca and Guillermo Laporta
had their Steinway Concert Hall debut performing music by Claude Debussy and Ottorino
Respighi. The duo reimagines the music for violin and piano of Claude Debussy and Ottorino
Respighi, expanding it into the repertoire of the modern flute.
May 2015 - CreArtBox recorded the soundtrack for the short film “A is for
Aye Aye”. A young girl named Iris is transformed by her encounter with an engraving from a
nineteenth-century book. Tired of the offerings of the virtual world, nine-year-old Iris wanders
down Fifth Avenue and into the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. Music was
written by Greg Karnilaw.
March 2015 - New productions of the Theatrical version of Visuality by
CreArtBox at theaters in NYC such as The Tank Theater and the Flamboyan Theater. Both theaters
co-produced Visuality.
The ensemble performed music by Sebastian Currier, Debussy, Jacob TV, Paul Moravec, Brahms, and
Marcos Fernandez.
November 2014 - CreArtBox’s Visuality evolved into a new scripted
production, a full-scale music and theater production which develops a narrative inspired by
studies by Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers where a psychoanalyst, explores the deepest thoughts of his
mind through music, poetry, and observation. Written by Guillermo Laporta and Jacopo Rampini and
choreographed by Marissa Maislen, this production fuses the music of Sebastian Currier, Joshua
Penman, Debussy, Paul Moravec, Jacob TV, Joan Tower, Marcos Fernandez, and Frederic Rzewski.
November 2014 - Supported by the Spanish Embassy-Cultural affairs, CreArtBox
presented an evolved version of Visuality at the Artisphere Theater, Arlington (Virginia),
incorporating theatrical light design by Jennifer Fok, and stage and projection design by Guillermo
Laporta.
This new theatrical version of VIsuality, explored the visual aspects of music with a narrative
voice guiding the audience through an almost meditative journey. Artists included flutist Guillermo
Laporta, clarinetist Anton Rist, violinist Keir Gogwilt, cellist Miho Zaitsu, pianist Josefina
Urraca, dancer Morgelyn Tenbeth-ward, dancer and actor Rick Cekovsky.
February to November 2014 - CreArtBox initiated its Visuality series, a multimedia
concert that explores the visual aspects of music. Each piece explores how light and sound can
intersect in their purest form. Visuality was considered an ongoing series that explored the
concert of “Visual Concert”.
The first productions took place at the Mary Flager Cary Hall, Spectrum and the Cervantes
Institute, as part of the second edition of the Play Loud Festival. CreArtBox’s members
included soprano Hannah DeBlock, actor Rick Cekovsky, cellist Yves Dharamraj, violinist Doori Na,
dancer Morgelyn Tenbeth-ward, flutist Guillermo Laporta, pianist Josefina Urraca, bandoneonist JP
Jofre, and Anton Rist ( Metropolitan orchestra clarinet soloist).
November 2013 - CreArtBox premiered its production Paris a.m. at the Gershwin
Hotel Music Series, presented by Neke Carson, who appeared in Warhol's films and paintings of
Andy's portrait at the Factory. This performance explored how the city of Paris and its artists
inspired the age of Impressionism. The show interweaved visual projections and French poetry within
the chamber music of Debussy, Roussel, and Pierne. This was the first collaboration with Italian
actor Jacopo Rampini, who appeared in later productions with the group.
Musicians from CreArtBox included: harpist Jane Yoon, cellist Yves Dharamraj, violist Nathan
Schram, Keir GoGwilt, and flutist Guillermo Laporta.
November 2013 - CreArtBox was featured at the first edition of the Play Loud
Festival presented by AENY - Spanish Artists in New York in collaboration with the Cervantes
Institute.
This inaugural edition was founded by Ignacio Garcia Bustelo and directed by Guillermo Laporta, and
set to launch at the Cervantes Institute headquarters in New York City from December 9th to
December 11th. The Festival comprises an eclectic program with three innovative ensembles exploring
the intersections between music and story in their own particular way. PLAY LOUD! Was a festival
created with the idea of merging the energy and vibe of the city of New York with the talent of
musicians from Spain in collaboration with artists from other cultures and nationalities.
August 2013 - CreArtbox made its New York City debut (as Cre.Art Project),as an interdisciplinary
music group, at the National Opera America Center the summer of 2013. The group was formed by
bandoneonist JP Jofre, violist Nathan Schram, cellist Yves Daramraj, pianist Josefina Urraca,
flutist Guillermo Laporta, dancers Eve Chan and Yung-Li Chen, and visual artists Julia Griffin and
Samuel Krichmar.
The program included Marcos Fernandez (1st resident composer) - Eclipse and Northumbrian, Debussy -
Piano trio in g minor, JP Jofre - Como el Agua & Universe, George Crumb - Vox Balaenae and
Jacob TV - Jesus is coming.
With this project the group explored the limits of chamber music’s scenic interpretation and
the concert was featured in Time Out:
“A new ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary events makes its debut with a concert designed
by flutist Guillermo Laporta, who gathers a handful of very sharp freelance
musicians—including cellist Yves Dharamraj and bandoneon virtuoso J.P. Jofre—as well as
choreographers and visual artists. The group's maiden voyage is set to works by Mussorgsky,
Duruflé, Jofre, George Crumb, Jacob ter Veldhuis and Marcos Fernández.”