Raised in the traditions of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban music, Orlando Cotto learned to play conga drums when he was just five years old. Since that time, he has developed a successful career as a marimbist and percussionist. Orlando was awarded the Pro Arte Ferdman Grant as the most outstanding student while completing his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. Orlando was the first marimbist to receive the Artist Diploma from Peabody Conservatory of Music of The Johns Hopkins University. That same year, he appeared with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra as the Winner of the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition.
According to the San Juan Star, Orlando is “an artist of musical sensitivity and accomplished technique.” Orlando brings together his solid classical training and Latin American background to create a powerful combination of rhythm and music previously uncharted in the marimba world, which is evident in his marimba recordings: Caribeños, A Little Prayer, Wild Hands, and Landmark – Afro-Cuban Music for the Marimba, featuring Michael Spiro and Juan Alamo. He has appeared at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, numerous colleges and universities, international percussion festivals and Days of Percussion throughout the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Taiwan.
The Washington Post has called Orlando “an invaluable percussionist” and Latin Beat magazine called his “solid conga drumming . . . a percussive pillar.” Orlando has performed over 100 shows of In the Heights Broadway musical by Lin Manuel Miranda. His performance at the Hispanic Heritage Special was broadcasted on PBS. He was the lead conguero of the Rumba Club, one of East Coast’s popular Latin Jazz ensembles and has performed at major jazz venues in the U.S.
A recording artist, Orlando has collaborated with music legends including Chita Rivera, Gary Nuñez, Angel “Cachete” Maldonado, Dave Samuels, Darin Atwater, Andy Gonzalez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Liam Teague, Robert Chappell, Edwin Colón Zayas, Victor Mendoza, and Liam Teague.
Orlando is a performing artist endorsed by Yamaha, Latin Percussion, Sabian, Croaker Percussion and D’Addario Percussion. Orlando has taught at the University of Delaware, Northern Illinois University, Gettysburg College, Morgan State University, and Loyola College (now Loyola University Maryland). Many of his students have gone on to develop successful careers as professional musicians and music educators.