A Latin GRAMMY® nominee and a Steinway Artist featured in Billboard Magazine’s “40 under 40” and “Latin Power Players” lists, classical pianist and composer Jorge Mejia defies easy categorization. His impassioned performances and evocative compositional style are enriched by his role as a leader in the Latin music world, infusing all facets of his work with a keenly global perspective.
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Jorge studied at the New World School of the Arts with William Dawson, a pupil of Rudolph Serkin, and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Jacob Maxin. He holds a Piano Performance degree from the University of Miami, where he studied with Teresa Escandon, a pupil of Jorge Bolet.
Hailed as "an instant classic...a rigorous and eclectic work" by El Nuevo Herald, Jorge's latest project was produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Adam Abeshouse and released via Sony Music Latin on May 4, 2018. An Open Book: A Memoir in Music is an ambitious genre-blending project, born of Mejia's devotion to storytelling in all its forms. Alternating narrative vignettes with orchestral preludes recorded by the composer with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, An Open Book is available as an audiobook and e-book with musical tracks. Co-presented by Miami cultural mainstay Books & Books, a launch concert at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center kicked off Mejia’s Latin American tour, which will also include appearances in Ecuador and Uruguay.
Hosted by the New World Symphony, excerpts from his set of preludes were recently played by pianist Simone Dinnerstein, accompanied by the Havana Lyceum Orchestra in their first U.S. tour. Dinnerstein describes the preludes as “almost a genre of their own. Composed to be performed next to spoken text, they create a wonderful cinematic effect, full of vibrant colors and lush melodies.”
Jorge is an expert in the power of words wedded to music, having collaborated extensively with some of the world’s foremost songwriters. As President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing Latin America and U.S. Latin, he oversees publishing operations across Latin America and the U.S. Latin market, with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Miami. Jorge has been instrumental in guiding Sony/ATV Latin to become the leading music publisher in the Latin industry, with a record-setting 15 consecutive ASCAP Latin Publisher of the Year wins, as well as multiple Billboard Publishing Corporation of the Year, BMI Latin Publisher of the Year, and SESAC Publisher of the Year awards.
In 2016, Sony/ATV became the first Latin publisher to win the “Triple Crown of Publishing” – Publisher of the Year awards from each of the three major performing rights organizations: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Under Jorge’s leadership, Sony/ATV repeated that feat in 2017 and 2019. Sony/ATV currently owns or administers over 3 million copyrights by such artists as The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Ricardo Arjona, Ed Sheeran, Luis Fonsi, Nicky Jam, The Chainsmokers, and Bob Dylan, among many others.
In 2020, Jorge was commissioned by the Miami City Ballet to create the music for its new digital commission, Places. With choreography by world renowned choreographer Claudia Schreier, Places premiered on November 19, 2020.
Most recently, Jorge’s music was used to choreograph Ariel Rose’s new piece Preludes, world premiered by Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami on November 13, 2021.
Jorge is currently putting the finishing touches on his latest piece, If These Walls Could Talk, to be premiered in 2022. Be notified here.
Jorge serves on the advisory board of the Frost School of Music and the Board of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.