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Luis Pérez was born in Mexico City on July 11, 1951. Since 1971 he has dedicated much of his time to the research of pre-Columbian musical instruments.
He has traveled over the years all over the countryside of Mexico in order to study the living musical traditions and learn directly from the living sources while collecting samples of musical instruments, music and songs. His collection of native Mexican instruments include archaeological artifacts representative of the different cultural groups in the area known as Mesoamerica, some dating more than 2000 years ago.
His early work while still in Mexico, was a mixture of sounds from his vast array of pre-Columbian and ethnographic wind and percussion instruments which he managed to blend with electronic devices such as; tape based delay units and analog synthezisers; in 1981 his work was heard and described in the U.S. by Archie Patterson as, "perhaps the ultimate fusion of ethnic and modern music, a stunning effect as the two different styles merge superbly into a mystical musical tapestry". Luis simply called it: Musica Experimental Mexicana. During that year the Mexican government became interested in his work and sponsored the production of what came to be the first recording of this type entitled: Ipan In Xiktli Metztli ( En el Ombligo de la Luna ) which made a big impact among the media and established Luis Pérez as a precursor in this field followed by a new generation of Mexican musicians.
His musical work "In the Navel of the Moon" was used continuosly for radio and television, at the same time he was commissioned to composed music for numerous radio programs on topics related to ancient and modern Mexican culture through the two educational radio stations in Mexico City; "Radio Educación and Radio Universidad". His educational involvement includes the entire composicional work for "Programa Nacional de Castellanizacion" a national program designed by the Ministry of Education in Mexico City, [Secretaría de Educación Pública] to help teach Spanish to ethnic groups.
In 1982, Luis was invited to participate in the "First Symposium of Music of Mexico" at U.C.L.A. where he performed his work at Shoenberg Hall and his collection of instruments was on display at the department of musicology, since then he has lectured on a regular basis for this department. Perez`s lectures have been welcomed in other universities, colleges and museums such as; the Natural History Museum, the South-West Museum, the Getty Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, UCLA, UCSB, CSU Northridge and Cal State in the south of California, also; the Museum of pre-Columbian Art in Philadelphia and the Museum of pre-Columbian Art at the University of St. Louis Mo. among others.
Luis Pérez moved to North America in 1987. Ixoneztli continues to explore the realm of pre-Columbian mythology, instrument preservation and the musical traditions among the indigenous groups of Mexico. Perez blends wind and percussion instruments in a contemporary setting to create a style of music that goes beyond the boundaries of folklorism, highlighting musical components of traditional and modern Mexican culture.
In the year 2000 Ixoneztli was granted with the Fellowship Award from the California Arts Council for his modern composition on pre-Hispanic instruments "Santuario de Mariposas". Luis has toured all over the American Continent performing, lecturing and teaching, he has collaborated with artists such as; Jackson Browne, Andreas Vollenweider, Ian Underwood, David Lindley, Kitaro, Jon Anderson ( singer of "Yes" ) composers; James Horner, Hans Zimmer and John Powell, among the companies he has worked for are; Universal, Paramount, L.A. Philharmonic, Disney Hall and Dream Works, in Southern California and in Canada with the French Canadian company Cirque du Soleil.
At present time Ixoneztli is working at Cuicacalli Productions; (The house of song) his own recording studio. Luis is composing music for; dance, theatre and soundtracks.
In the year 2003 Luis Perez was commissioned to compose music for the inauguration of the Disney Concert Hall in L.A. California, inspired on the Mayan book "Popol Vuh" he created a piece of contemporary music for percussion and wind instruments from pre-Columbian Mexico and modern dance, it was performed twice in the main hall during the inaugural day under the title "The Dawn of Mankind" the choreography was created by adding movement to pictographic representations of dance in screen folds, [codices] sculpture and paintings and he designed and created the costumes as well.
Between 1998 and 2002 Composed music for Crisman Films and the Outdoors Life T.V. Network, over 25 documentaries for the 'Friends of the Forest" and "Earth Rescue" series
This series won one award during the year 2000 and five more in 2001 for the "Outstanding Documentary Series".
Ixoneztli is writing a book on the "Construction techniques of musical instruments of wind and percussion native to Mexico" based on his experiences while visiting ethnic groups in Mexico, and through the extensive workshops he has taught to children and adults in both the United States and Mexico.
Luis Pérez's recording collaborations can be found in over twenty different recordings, his first solo CD in the U.S. is "Tales of Astral Travelers".
Since the year 2000 and up to 2011 the play he composed music for, "The History and Mystery of the Universe" based on the life and works of Buckminster Fuller has been touring the main cities of the U.S.A. including; San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Boston and Washington D.C.
In 2008 Luis and his wife Mary Perez-Gibbons opened the Vita Art Center in Ventura.CA. A place for the arts that offers instruction to children and adults with renown artists from the state of California and it also includes a gallery where new exhibits are installed every month.
www.vitaartcenter.com
Since the opening of Vita Art, Luis has been involved in art instruction and production, besides live music performances, he has created installations that involve sculpture and both live and recorded music, cultural programs involving theatre, dance art and music have been welcomed by the school district, private schools and museums where Luis teaches, lectures and performs regularly.
www.musicfromtheavenue.com
Luis has also been teaching construction techniques to make clay whistles and flutes to adults both students and art teachers in Ventura, Westmont, Hartnell and Santa Barbara Colleges. His own creations have been exhibited in different galleries and museums.
His collection of archaeological artifacts was on display at the Albingers Archaeological Museum of Ventura in 2008 in partnership with Vita Art.
His research work is also welcomed in congresses of music such as the International Summit of Archaeomusicology that took place in Guatemala City in March 2011 where Luis was one of the speakers.
On February 24th. 2012 The Museum of Ventura County will have an exhibit of his collection of musical artifacts and other objects related to the practice of music and dance in ancient Mexico, this will also be the release date for his new musical work Santuario de Mariposas - "Sanctuary of Butterflies" concerts, lectures and multi media events will be part of the exhibit, what a better way to honor the memory of the ancient peoples of the American continent if not through art, music and dance