Hector King

Héctor King (born May 4, 1982) is a Mexican recording artist who has worked in Latin America as well as the United States. King released the Spanish language album VIVE in 2006, followed-up by "The Sweet Spot", in English in 2009. His contemporary oratorio "La Vida" premiered in Mexico in 2011 and a highlights recording was released the following year.

Biography

Early years

King was born in Culiacán, Mexico of parents Saul King and Martha Tamayo. , his parents lived in Culiacán where his father works for the State Government. King's mother is a former Congresswoman and a former Senator in Mexico.

King began taking piano lessons at the age of 10, earning a degree in Contemporary Keyboard Execution from Yamaha Music five years later. He then moved on to the stage in regional theatre productions of The Sound of Music, Little Shop of Horrors and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

1996–2002 In the late 1990s, King moved to Monterrey, Mexico to train in classical music. While attending college King went on to compose the score for two musicals: Siempre Verde and Tilín Larín. He also entered the Festival de la Canción del Sistema ITESM (a renowned songwriting competition in Mexico) and won four major awards with his song "Vive": Best Lyric, Best Music, People's Choice Award and Song of the Year.

During this time, King joined Sergio, Federico and Jorge Velderráin to form a pop-rock band named Nitia. Without a label or management, Nitia went on to have two singles on Mexican radio: "Esta Noche" and "Renacer". The group disbanded after a couple of years, but in 2002 the Velderráin brothers (now as a band named Maqina.Love) and King collaborated in a pop compilation, Kemado Master, released regionally by Peerless/MCM/Warner Music. King's first single as a solo act, "Chubidubi", first received airplay in April 2002. However, without further support from the label and a well-organized tour, support in radio and record sales stalled.

Also during this period, Hector began collaborating with Lux Boreal, one of Mexico's most important contemporary dance companies, based in Tijuana, Mexico. In 2005 King wrote the score and songs for Lux Boreal's original work "La Flor de Siete Hojas", which has been performed in numerous countries to universal acclaim. In late 2008 a new Lux Boreal entirely original choreography is expected to be staged, set to an unpublished piece by Hector King.

In 2010, King was commissioned to write a song commemorating Mexico's Bicentennial. The result was "Mucho Por Contar", an epic 6-minute-long narration of the songwriter's life history as a metaphor for the history of the country. It premiered in mid April in Monterrey, Mexico during a live concert.

King's oratorio "La Vida", loosely based on the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible is set to premiere in Monterrey, Mexico in April, 2011. It is King's first entirely original work for the stage. The concert includes several previously released songs (including Spanish language versions of material originally made public in English), as well as numbers written specifically for the oratorio. King wrote the lyrics and composed the music to every piece in the concert, except for "De Pie" (lyrics by Hector King, music by Hector King and Oma).

Further stage works include his Messa Solenne (a classical mass) and his first opera: Il Manoscrito, based on an original idea of King's and currently being developed and workshopped in Los Angeles.

Discography Kemado Master 2002 Peerless/MCM/Warner Mexico Vive EP 2005 ESI Mexico VIVE 2006 ESI US/Mexico Tu Me Gustas EP 2006 ESI US Se Fue EP 2006 ESI US The Sweet Spot 2009 ESI US La Vida 2011 ESI US Por Debajo del Agua 2012 ESI US Con Los Pies en la Tierra 2014 LBR US

Stage Credits as a Lyricist/Adapter A Chorus Line – 2002 Sugar – 2003 Todo Se Vale (Anything Goes) – 2005 Sweeney Todd – 2007 Romeo & Julieta (Romeo et Juliette: de l'haine a l'amour) – 2008 La Pimpinela Escarlata (The Scarlet Pimpernel) – 2008 Footloose – 2009 RENT – 2009 Anita la Huerfanita (Annie) – 2010 Altar Boyz – 2011 Despertar en Primavera (Spring Awakening) – 2012 Legalmente Rubia (Legally Blonde) – 2012 Grease – 2013 Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella) – 2014 In The Heights – 2014 Ghost, La Sombra del Amor (Ghost, The Musical) – 2015 Shrek – 2015 Oliver! – 2016 El Rey y Yo – 2016