Surrey Music MMus alumna bestowed with international award
Cuban-American composer, conductor, Honorary Visiting Professor and proud Surrey MMus graduate Odaline de la Martínez has been honoured with the 2026 Tulane University International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement.
The presentation of the award took place at the 52nd annual Alumni Awards Gala on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Civic Theater in New Orleans.
This award recognizes and honours alumni who live and/or work in international communities and who exemplify the highest standards of excellence and have distinguished themselves in their fields. It is among the highest honours bestowed by the Tulane Alumni Association on one of its members.
Odaline, known affectionately as Chachi, has similarly been recognised by the University of Surrey in the past, becoming the inaugural recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and receiving the Honorary Doctorate two years later. Her career continues to go from strength to strength, with performances of her compositions in recent weeks in the US, Germany, Switzerland and Spain in addition to multiple media interviews and radio broadcasts given in the UK and US. She returned to Surrey late in 2024 to celebrate her 75th birthday and lifetime achievements in music with a special concert in PATS Studio 1 on campus.
Surrey’s staff and students are extremely privileged to benefit from Chachi’s vast international experience and expertise as Honorary Visiting Professor. Recent months have seen her conduct one of our student orchestras in a performance of her work, as well as conducting the professional recording of a complete opera in Studio One in the Performing Arts Technology Studios on campus, which will be commercially released later this year. She has also mentored one of Surrey’s PhD researchers, who conducted the premiere of her Suite from the Opera ‘Imoinda’ in Central London featuring our students as performers.
Head of Music and Media at the University of Surrey, Dr Chris Wiley comments:
“We are delighted that the Tulane Alumni Association has granted Chachi this prestigious award in acknowledgement of the sustained leadership and excellence exemplified by her pathbreaking international career. Many congratulations, Maestra Martínez, on this latest, richly deserved award!”
In 1984, Chachi was the first woman to conduct a complete concert at the BBC Proms—a landmark moment in British musical history. She remains a towering figure in contemporary music, continuing to compose, conduct and champion under-represented voices in classical music. Maestra Martínez has guest-conducted orchestras internationally, bringing contemporary music to audiences around the world and championing under-represented composers throughout her career.
