Odaline de la Martinez

Odaline de la Martínez, known as 'Chachi', is a Cuban-born conductor and composer, born in Matanzas in 1949 and naturalised as an American citizen in 1971. Her career combines conducting contemporary music ensembles with a compositional output of an eclectic character, and her name is particularly associated with Europe, where she built much of her career.

She emigrated to the United States in 1961 and studied at Tulane University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1972. That same year she settled in London to study composition with Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music (1972–1976) and with Reginald Smith Brindle at the University of Surrey, from which she graduated in 1977. She received scholarships and awards including the Marshall, Watson, Danforth and Guggenheim, and in 1987 she was awarded the Villa-Lobos Medal in Brazil for her performances of the works of that composer.

In 1976 she founded Lontano, a professional chamber ensemble based in London, devoted to performing and recording contemporary music. In 1982 she created the Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, later renamed the London Chamber Symphony, and in 1987 she became the first woman to conduct a complete programme at the Proms. She later founded the LORELT label, focused on Latin American composers and on women composers of all periods.

Her music, influenced by George Crumb, electronic music and her Latin American heritage, includes the opera Sister Aimee, based on the life of the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Her legacy lies above all in promoting seldom-performed repertoire, especially that of women composers and Latin American authors.