Berta Rojas

Berta Rojas
Background information
Birth name Berta Rojas
Born (1966-09-23) September 23, 1966
Asunción, Paraguay
Genres Classical
Occupation(s) Musician, Professor
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1992–present
Associated acts Agustín Barrios, Paquito D'Rivera
Website Berta Rojas

Berta Rojas (born 23 September 1966) is a Paraguayan classical guitarist. In 2012 she was nominated for Best Instrumental Album in the Latin Grammys for her album "Día y Medio (A Day and a Half)" which she recorded with Paquito D’Rivera.[1] For her album "Salsa Roja (Red Sauce)", She was nominated at the 2014 Latin Grammy Awards, in the category of Best Classical Album.[2] She got her 3rd nomination on 2015, for her album "History of Tango", which she recorded with the iconic Camerata Bariloche, for Best Tango Album.

Background and education

Berta Rojas was praised for having “introduced a new dimension in the emotional reaches of the instrument,” according to El País newspaper in 1991.[3] Since then she has gone on to build an international career and was lauded by the Washington Post as a “guitarist extraordinaire”[4] and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “ambassador of the classical guitar.”[5]

She had her first music lessons with guitarist Emiliano Aiub Riveros. She then studied guitar briefly with Carlos Vázquez, and began her formal education in classical guitar at age 10 under the instruction of Felipe Sosa and Violeta de Mestral. At the same time, she also studied piano with Rosa Mereles de López at the Jorge Báez Conservatory.[6]

Rojas moved to Uruguay in 1986 to continue her studies with Uruguayan professor Abel Carlevaro. There she enrolled in the Escuela Universitaria de Música (Universidad de la República), where she obtained a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar, studying under guitarist Eduardo Fernández and Mario Paysée.

In 1996, Rojas was named a Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her artistic excellence.[7] This recognition helped her acquire the means to continue her formal education in the United States. That same year, she began her graduate studies at the Peabody Institute. In 1997 she received a scholarship from the Organization of American States which financed her remaining studies. She received a Master of Music from Peabody Institute under the instruction of Manuel Barrueco[8] and Ray Chester.[9] In 2000, Rojas received her Graduate Performance Diploma at the same institution under Barrueco and Julian Gray.[10]

Musical career

Rojas has performed at various venues around the world, including at the National Concert Hall in Dublin as a soloist with the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra (RTO),[11] and on Belgian National Television with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.[12] Since 2011, Rojas has toured through 20 countries in the Americas with Cuban saxophonist and 11-time Grammy award winner Paquito D'Rivera on the “In the Footsteps of Mangoré” tour.[13] Together, Rojas and D’Rivera recorded and released Día y Medio (A Day and a Half),[14] an album which earned a nomination for “Best Instrumental Album” in the 13th Latin Grammy's in 2012. She has also frequently toured with Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima.[15]

Rojas twelve regular studio recordings, beginning with the 1998 album, Intimate Barrios, that was included in Gramophone Magazine’s list of “the best recordings you can buy.” [16] Her 2006 release of Cielo Abierto was praised by Soundboard Magazine as “impeccable in every aspect of professionalism—heart-touching musical artistry, interesting repertoire and excellent technical production.”[17] 2009’s Terruño has received excellent reviews by critics internationally. Steve Marsh of Classical Guitar Magazine commended Terruño for exhibiting a “poetic exquisiteness which many another player rarely attains.”[18]

In May 2015, Berta Rojas received the distinction of "Maestros del Arte",[19] the "Embajadora Ilustre del Arte Musical" distinction by the Paraguayan Senate,[20] and the award of "La Ordena Nacional al Mérito Comuneros", by the Chamber of Deputies Paraguay.[21] On May 18, 2015 she released her latest album "History of Tango", along with the iconic Camerata Bariloche.[22]

Activism promoting the development and appreciation of musical arts

Year Activity
1994 Artistic Director of the First Agustin Barrios International Guitar Competition and Festival, with the participation of John Williams, Graciela “Chelita” Pomponio, Richard Stover, Enrique Pinto, and Hopkinson Smith, among others (Paraguay) [23]
1999 Artistic Director of the City of Asuncion’s Music Competition (Paraguay)[24]
2002[25] and 2006[26] Artistic Director of the Cardozo Ocampo Competition (Paraguay)
2007, 2008 and 2009 Artistic Director of the John and Susie Beatty Music Scholarship Competition for Classical Guitar (Washington, DC, USA) [27]
2007, 2008,[28] 2009[29] and 2010[30] Artistic Director of the Iberoamerican Guitar Festival (Washington, DC, USA)
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Artistic Director of the Latin American Harp Festival (Washington, DC, USA)[31]
2009[32] and 2011 Founder and Director of the Barrios World Wide Web Competition[33]
2009,[34] 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Educational tour “Con Berta Rojas hoy toca Mangoré” Tour of Schools (Paraguay)[35]
2011,[36] 2012, 2013 and 2014 “In the Footsteps of Mangore” Tour (Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Panama, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, Costa Rica, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, French Guiana, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Haiti, Martinique, Cuba and El Salvador)[37]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Berta Rojas, nominada al Grammy Latino". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). September 25, 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Latin Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 2014...". The Hornet. September 24, 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "La Música en 1990: Grandes Recitales". El País de Montevideo. January 12, 1991.
  4. ↑ "Berta Rojas. Guitarist Extraordinaire". The Washington Post. May 27, 1993.
  5. ↑ Panting, Tim. "Waltons Guitar Festival of Ireland". Classical Guitar Magazine (May 2007): 38.
  6. ↑ "Conservatorio "Jorge Báez Roa" inició sus actividades". Diario ABC Color. March 1, 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Berta Rojas at The Kennedy Center". Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Institute". peabody.jhu.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Ray Chester at the Peabody Institute". peabody.jhu.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Julian Gray". peabody.jhu.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Berta con sinfónica de Irlanda". Diario ABC Color. June 7, 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Berta Rojas cosecha éxitos durante concierto en Bélgica". Diario La Nación (in Spanish). November 26, 2010.
  13. ↑ "In the Footsteps of Mangoré". bertarojas.com. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Berta Rojas y Paquito D´Rivera lanzan disco con música paraguaya". Diario Última Hora (in Spanish). May 12, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Concierto de Berta y Barbosa - Lima". Diario ABC Color (in Spanish). October 10, 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Rickards, Guy. "Our monthly guide to the best recordings you can buy". Gramophone Magazine (February, 2000).
  17. ↑ "Elogian el trabajo de Berta Rojas". Diario ABC Color. December 27, 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  18. ↑ Marsh, Steve. "Reviews - Terruño". Classical Guitar Magazine (2009).
  19. ↑ "Los "Maestros del Arte 2015" serán distinguidos hoy por el Congreso". La Nación.
  20. ↑ ABC Color. "Senado condecora a Berta Rojas".
  21. ↑ Lorena FLores. "Berta Rojas recibió condecoración de parte de la Cámara de Diputados".
  22. ↑ ABC Color. "Nuevo disco de Berta Rojas está dedicado a la historia del tango".
  23. ↑ "Lanzaron un concurso mundial de guitarra". Diario Última Hora. April 26, 1994.
  24. ↑ "Concurso musical del CPJ ofrece un concierto en Washington". Diario ABC Color. March 10, 1999.
  25. ↑ "Música erudita se renueva con los jóvenes". Diario ABC Color. December 28, 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  26. ↑ "Concurso Cardozo Ocampo de guitarra y requinto". Diario ABC Color. May 5, 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  27. ↑ "The Beatty Music Scholarship -Competition for Classical Guitar". beattymusiccompetition.org. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  28. ↑ "Berta Rojas". Soundboard Magazine (XXXV): 80 to 83. 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  29. ↑ "FESTIVAL IBEROAMERICANO DE GUITARRA". Diario ABC Color. June 12, 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Berta Rojas dirige festival de guitarra en Washington". Diario ABC Color. June 4, 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  31. ↑ "Berta Rojas at Teatro de la Luna".
  32. ↑ "Innovadora competencia internacional de guitarra". Diario ABC Color. July 24, 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "Barrios World Wide Web Competition".
  34. ↑ "Berta Rojas inicia gira dirigida a los jóvenes". Diario ABC Color. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  35. ↑ "Gira "Con Berta Rojas hoy toca Mangoré"". Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  36. ↑ "Berta Rojas hará una gira por el camino de Mangoré". Diario ABC Color. June 24, 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  37. ↑ "In the Footsteps of Mangoré".

Bibliography

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