Berta Rojas (born 23 September 1966) is a

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

classical guitarist that won two Latin Grammy Awards on 2022 in its 23rd edition with her latest album entitled "Legado", the first in the "Best Classical Music Album" category, becoming the first Latin Grammy for Paraguay, and the second award in the "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" category for Anido's Portrait: I. Chacarera, composed by Sergio Assad, who was commissioned by the guitarist to write a piece in tribute to María Luisa Anido. In 2012 she was nominated for '' Best Instrumental Album'' in the

Latin Grammys The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

for her album "Día y Medio (A Day and a Half)" which she recorded with Paquito D’Rivera. For her album "Salsa Roja (Red Sauce)", she was nominated at the 2014 Latin Grammy Awards in the category of ''

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

''. She got her third nomination in the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards for Best Tango Album for her album "History of Tango", which she recorded with the iconic

Camerata Bariloche The Camerata Bariloche is a chamber music ensemble from Argentina, founded in 1967. The ensemble has achieved international recognition for excellence. Origins The Camerata was formed by musician Alberto Lysy, who organized the Camping Musical ...

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. Since then she has gone on to build an international career and was lauded by

the Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

as a "guitarist extraordinaire" and by Classical Guitar Magazine as "ambassador of the classical guitar." 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. Rojas moved to Uruguay in 1986 to continue her studies with Uruguayan professor

Abel Carlevaro Abel Carlevaro (16 December 1916 – 17 July 2001) was a classical guitar composer and teacher born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He established a new school of instrumental technique, incorporating a fresh approach to seating and playing the guitar, ...

. 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. 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 The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

. In 1997 she received a scholarship from the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

which financed her remaining studies. She received a Master of Music from Peabody Institute under the instruction of

Manuel Barrueco Manuel Barrueco (born December 16, 1952) is a Cuban classical guitarist. During three decades of concert performances he has performed and recorded across the United States and has been involved in many successful collaborations. In addition, he ...

and Ray Chester. In 2000, Rojas received her Graduate Performance Diploma at the same institution under Barrueco and Julian Gray.

Musical career

Rojas has performed at various venues around the world, including at the National Concert Hall in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

as a soloist with the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra (RTO), and on Belgian National Television with the

Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra The Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra (BPhO) is a Belgian orchestra based in Brussels that was established in 2002 by Antonio Vilardi, then artistic director of the Théâtre Saint-Michel, Clare Roberts, a French horn player, and Roger Bausier, th ...

. 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. Together, Rojas and D’Rivera recorded and released ''Día y Medio'' (A Day and a Half), 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. Rojas' twelve regular studio recordings began with the 1998 album ''Intimate Barrios'', that was included in Gramophone Magazine's list of "the best recordings you can buy." Her 2006 release "Cielo Abierto" was praised by Soundboard Magazine as "impeccable in every aspect of professionalism—heart-touching musical artistry, interesting repertoire and excellent technical production." 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." In May 2015, Berta Rojas received the distinction of "Maestros del Arte", the "Embajadora Ilustre del Arte Musical" distinction by the Paraguayan Senate, and the award of "La Ordena Nacional al Mérito Comuneros", by the Chamber of Deputies Paraguay. On 18 May 2015 she released her album "History of Tango", along with the iconic Camerata Bariloche. In 2016 the Autonomous University of Encarnación and the Universidad Americana of Asunción bestowed upon her Honorary Doctorate Degrees. And for her outstanding work on behalf of culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded her the National Order of Merit “Don José Falcón” in 2017. On 8 May 2017 she presented her album entitled "Felicidade", in homage to

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

, with the collaboration of the outstanding artists

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

Toquinho Antônio Pecci Filho (born July 6, 1946), better known as Toquinho (), is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. He is well known for his collaborations, as composer and performer, with Vinicius de Moraes. Childhood and musical studies Toquinho was b ...

and Iván Lins. On 4 July 2017, she received the Carlos Colombino award, granted by the National Secretariat of Culture of Paraguay in recognition of her contribution to Paraguayan culture. In August 2017 she became the first Latin American guitar teacher in the Guitar Department at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. In June 2018 she joined the renowned Australian guitarist John Williams in a tribute to Agustín Barrios Mangoré at the Sam Wanamaker theater of the Shakespeare's Globe cultural complex in London.

Activism promoting the development and appreciation of musical arts

Discography

* Berta Rojas interprets Agustin Barrios – Clave Ediciones. Paraguay, 1992 * Concierto Latinoamericano – Paraguay, 1995 * Concierto Latinoamericano – Dorian Recordings, USA, 1997 * Intimate Barrios – Dorian Recordings. USA, 1998 * Guitarra Adentro – Paraguay, 2002 * Cielo Abierto – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2006 * Alma y Corazón – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2007 * Flores de Asunción – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2008 * Paraguay According to Agustin Barrios – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2008 * Terruño – ON Music Recordings – USA, 2009 * Día y Medio – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2012 * Salsa Roja – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2013 * Historia del Tango (History of Tango) – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2015 * Felicidade (Happiness) – ON Music Recordings. USA, 2017 * Legado - ON Music Recordings. USA, 2022

References

*Bruzual, A. (2012). La Guitarra en Venezuela. Desde sus orígenes hasta nuestros días uitar in Venezuela. From its origin until our days Caracas: Central Bank of Venezuela *González Palacios, E., Podetti, M., Rovatti, D., & Muñoz, I. (1998). Lengua y Literatura 7 anguage and Literature 7 Asunción: Santillana S.A. *Quevedo, O. (2005). Forgers of Paraguay. Asunción: Arami Grupo Empresarial *Starling, W. (2012). Strings Attached. The life & music of John Williams. London: The Robson Press *Stover, R. (2002). Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré. El Salvador: Fundación María Escalon de Nuñez.

Background and education

Musical career

Activism promoting the development and appreciation of musical arts

Discography

References

External links