Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City the music of William Ortiz often reflects the realities of Latino urban culture. He studied at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Buffalo. He received his Ph.D. in Music Composition in 1983 and is currently Full-Professor of Music and Director of the University Concert Band at the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón campus. Among his numerous awards, grants and commissions is the 2001 Latin Grammy Nomination for the Baja California Orchestra's CD "Tango mata danzón mata tango", which includes his Guitar Concerto "Tropicalización". His work has been the focus of study by musicologists, scholars and musicians. Within the last three decades, Ortiz has written over 126 compositions for almost all types of musical instruments and voices; from simple percussion to electronic media, from songs to opera and from chamber to orchestral works. He makes the following statement on his music: "I conceive of music as the violent beauty of urban life; as the expression of the shouts in the street - those that are felt, that are oppressed. It is my intent to convert the language of the street into a legitimate instrument."