Mary Pretiz

Costa Rica is a state where the music beats in the hearts of its people. They share the love for melody and own it like no other state. Time and again Costa Rican musical talents have claimed to name and fame. Among this list of many renowned and amazing musicians Costa Rica has produced, Mary Grace Pretiz Beaumont, popularly called Mary Pretiz places himself among the top rankers.

Pretiz was born on 8^th September 1964 in San Jose, Costa Rica. In his early years of life he and his family recognized the musician in him, which encouraged him not only to study, learn and play music but also make a career out of it. In 1983, Pretiz enrolled into the School of Music at the University of Costa Rica for four years and educated himself with music composition and the piano. He started to play simultaneously for various bands like Pentagram, Dynamis and Black Sheep which he also continued after his degree. Gaining all the experience as a keyboardist and arranger with the bands he used to play, Pretiz was finally all set to enter the music business as a solo artist. This happened in 1989.

Pretiz’s music has a mind of its own. It’s a combination of musical genera like rock fusion, humble ballads, Latin American tunes and his forte Jazz. His lyrics and compositions have always a deeper meaning to them which makes his songs worth to ponder on. His words are penetrating and have a sarcastic approach to the way we live in this era. They are modern yet poetic, blended with a bit of psychology and philosophy making them truly enjoyable and meaningful at the same time.

He has produced seven beautiful albums to date and they include his first album, Route to the Sun (1991), From Insomnia (1994), Gardens (1997), More Than One Way (1999), Behind the Eve (2001), A Happier 6% (2004) and his most recent, highly adored disc released in 2008, In Braille.

He has happily received various awards and recognitions in his musical voyage. His theme, “Tell Me” made to the top position in charts in 1992 and 1993. The video for “Tell Me” then received the Best Video at TVA in 1994.  His album “Gardens” also won the Best National Production award in 1997.

Mary Pretiz has been seen working with many artists from the start. He has joined in various ventures and featured in many songs of other musicians. Over the years, he has co-shared the limelight with internationally famed artists like Tania Libertad, Synthesis, Alux Nahual, Lilliana Herrero, Alan Jackson, Roger Botanz, and Karla Lara among many others. He has also liberally worked with Costa Rican stars like Manual Obregon, Editus, Malpais, Adrian Goizueta, Sojo Diego and Juan Carlos. These collaborations with other musicians takes his worked on albums as a pianist, arranger and a guest vocalist to forty! His last of the latest and highly appreciated work was with Juan Carlos and Jeana Urena in 2009 called “A Space of Light”.

Mary Pretiz has enjoyed being a strong advocate of music and has actively been a part of various festivals and music meetings across the world. He believes in spreading the love with music and promoting it to make it bigger and better for the listeners and channeling it to help all the right causes.

Website:

http://www.mariapretiz.com/