Cristóbal MarYán is a Mexican composer, sound designer, and former diplomat. He began studying piano at eight and composing at twelve. At sixteen, he moved to Hong Kong on a full scholarship to attend Li Po Chun United World College. Upon graduating, he was admitted to New York University Abu Dhabi, also on a full scholarship, where he graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and was awarded the Founders Day Award.

 

MarYán has been composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of the Americas and OAcademy. His works have been performed from New York to Sri Lanka by musicians and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Minería Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Kontzertny Orkestr of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Carlos Miguel Prieto, the Tesla Quartet, Llewellyn Sánchez Werner, and the String Orchestra of New York City, among others.

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His teachers include Enrico Chapela, Carlos Guedes, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Mark Suozzo, and Michael Patterson. His orchestration teachers include Justin dello Joio and Georgina Derbéz. From 2013 to 2014, he attended a year-long composition forum led by Julia Wolfe at NYU New York, and in 2017 he was invited to participate in an intensive artistic workshop with the Bang on a Can All-stars in Abu Dhabi. Upon returning to Mexico, he completed courses in ensemble composition, electroacoustic composition, and symphonic orchestra composition at the Núcleo Integral de composición (NICO). 

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MarYán also composes music theatre. He has written music and designed sound for Mexico's most important theater companies, including the National Theater Company, Once Once Producciones, Mejor Teatro, and Por Piedad Teatro. In 2019, he received the Metropolitan Award for "best sound design" for the play 10 out of 12 by Anne Washburn. He was nominated for the same award for best original music for a play on two occasions. He has also been nominated several times for the ACPT Award for both original music and sound design. In 2026, he served as musical director in the Mexican production of Alex Wright's and Phil Grainger's "Euridice".

 

His film scores include Time of Jacarands (2026) by Francisco Sánchez, Son of Monarchs (winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival), the award winning documentary Sanctuary (2019) by Andrea Córdoba, the Amazon Prime series Two Lakes, as well as a number of awarded short films.

 

From 2022 to 2024, he served as First Secretary and head of the Culture, Press, and Tourism sections at the Mexican Embassy in China, where, in addition to using music as a diplomatic tool, he fostered connections between Mexican and Chinese institutions, promoted Mexican artists, and managed high-impact cultural projects.