Estevan Olmos was walking through campus minutes before the premiere of one of his pieces when he checked Facebook Messenger. Buried 25 days deep in unread messages was a note from a Los Angeles Philharmonic curator, Mark McNeill, who tracked down the composer’s Facebook profile after failing to find a website. 

McNeill had heard Olmos’ music and wanted to commission him for the “Green Umbrella” concert series for the L.A. Phil in early March. Olmos fired off a reply, and McNeill wrote back almost immediately: “I’m going to your concert tonight. I’ll see you there, and we’ll chat.”

“I remember freaking out because he sent that message [at] the beginning of February and when I checked it, it was February 28,” Olmos said. 

Olmos, a first-year doctoral composition student, is a first-generation Mexican American from Fresno, California. Olmos spent years building music at the intersection of Latine and contemporary classical music, which culminated in the piece inspired by Judy Baca’s mural, “The Great Wall of Los Angeles,” which caught the attention of the L.A. Phil. 

The six composers for the “Green Umbrella” series, three of whom are USC graduates, independently chose a panel of the mural to compose a piece about. Olmos was drawn to a panel originally titled “350,000 Mexican Americans Deported” due to the historical relevance to the present moment. 

“I knew of current tensions because I’ve had family members deported,” Olmos said. “But I didn’t know it had been an issue for so long, all the way back to the 1930s.”  

The piece has parallels to current United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids. The mural’s clear imagery and symbolism and further research into the activists and music of the time — including a group called Los Madrugadores — gave Olmos everything he needed to begin writing.

“[Olmos] was one of the few ones who had actual thematic, specific melodies that went with the picture,” said senior lecturer Aarón Serfaty, who attended the “Green Umbrella” concert. 

Before his success in Los Angeles, Olmos traces his earliest memories of music to family road trips and his dad blasting Mexican music. He said he looks back on those memories fondly, a reflection of his developed pride in where he comes from. He said that listeners can still hear these roots in his music today. 

“I definitely definitely like to incorporate elements of Mexican music [into my music] and [try] to learn more about Mexican music,” Olmos said. 

He also said that curiosity has pulled him steadily outward into the wider world of Latin American music, especially with Afro-Cuban percussion. For Olmos, learning a rhythm means tracing it to its roots — across Latin America, back through Europe and into Africa — finding the shared history embedded in every beat.

Mexican American composer and former Thornton School of Music professor Juan-Pablo Conteras, whose music “Mariachitlan” weaves mariachi sounds and rhythms into an orchestral setting, inspired Olmos to blend cultural traditions with classical music. 

“[Mariachitlan] was such a cool piece, and I loved it,” Olmos said. “I saw that he went to USC and was teaching at USC, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to go there.’” 

Olmos continues his percussion work both inside and outside the USC community. He plays in Thornton’s Latin Jazz Ensemble under Serfaty, who also serves as one of his doctoral minor field advisors, while also channeling his energy into Los Licenciados, a group he plays in that includes several other Latino USC alumni. The group focuses on bolero, a Cuban romantic ballad popularized in the late 18th century.

Currently, Olmos studies with Thornton professor and chair of composition Donald Crockett — though at USC, students switch their individual instruction professors each year. In lessons, Olmos often brings examples of music he’s been listening to, such as Afro-Cuban rhythms, and he said Crockett encourages him to apply that material in new directions.

“It’s been a real pleasure working with him as he develops this melding of music into his own,” Crockett said. 

Crockett cited Olmos’ studies in percussion with Serfaty as bringing sophistication and virtuosity into his music.

Serfaty said blending historically separated styles of music with contemporary classical music, as Olmos does, is significant because it creates a more diverse and texturally interesting piece. 

“Our mission is the creation of beauty,” Serfaty said. “So, the more information we have, the prettier the things we can create. The bigger the palette, the more colors we’re going to have.”

Whether Olmos is arranging for Serfaty’s band, composing for the L.A. Phil, studying congas, playing in his own band or teaching music theory, Serfaty said “he’s a joy to have around.” 

“He is incredibly talented. He’s also incredibly young,” Serfaty said. “So that’s the battle, trying to tame the youthful exuberance and narrowing the focus so he works [on] one thing at a time.”

While Thornton’s composition program has a strong relationship with the L.A. Phil, Crockett said a commission of this scale is far from guaranteed. 

“Those things are huge for Estevan,” Crockett said. “It’s not a common thing, so it’s a big deal, and he’ll make the most of it moving forward.” 

Olmos said he “still can’t believe it.” 

“I would have never imagined that I would have a piece commissioned by the L.A. Phil and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel,” Olmos said, referring to the orchestra’s music and artistic director.