Composer José Evangelista was born in Valencia, Spain, and almost all his career has evolved on the Montréal music scene. Parallel to his classes in physics and computer science he studied music with Spanish composer Vicente Asencio before settling in Montréal in 1970, at which point he continued his training under composers Bruce Mather and André Prévost, earning a Ph.D. in composition from McGill University in 1984.

Hired by Université de Montréal in 1979, where he occupied the position of professor until 2009, José Evangelista is recognized as the originator of the Balinese Gamelan Workshop there, a traditional orchestra of Indonesian origin. In 1993 he succeeded Denis Gougeon as composer in residence with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for two years. His works have been commissioned by ensembles in both Canada and Europe, and have been performed by a number of renowned ensembles around the planet.

In his creative work, José Evangelista takes an approach aimed at making music an essentially melodic manifestation. Complementing that perspective are the influence of his Spanish origins, and that of gamelan orchestras, which lends his music a rhythmic energy that melds with his melodic writing.