Acclaimed Classical Guitarist Berta Rojas Performs in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Both the Washington Post and Classical Guitar Magazine praised her as "guitarist extraordinaire" and an "ambassador of the classical guitar." She is renowned for her impeccable technique and innate musical mastery. Indeed, Berta Rojas is one of the most outstanding female classical guitarists of our time.

 Her acknowledged warmth and musicality have endeared her to audiences. She's been applauded at such major venues as the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall and the Frederick P. Rose Hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, London's South Bank Centre, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and the National Concert Hall in Dublin, where she performed as soloist of the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra, and on Flagley Studio 4 in Brussels, where she performed with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra for the Belgian National Television.

Berta Rojas also had the honor of opening the Summit of the First Ladies of the Americas attended by then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Most recently Berta toured with Cuban saxophone player and11-time Grammy winner Paquito D'Rivera, with whom she recorded the album "Día y Medio" (Day and a Half). This recording was nominated for "Best Instrumental Album" in the 13th Latin Grammys.

This virtuoso performer maintains a prolific recording schedule. Her CD "Intimate Barrios" is one of the most celebrated recordings of the works of the great Paraguayan composer and guitarist, Agustin Barrios. It glows with the delicate insight and feminine touch she brings to the music of Mangoré.

With her albums, "Cielo Abierto" and "Terruño" Berta Rojas won great acclaim from critics, presenting a personal and renewed repertoire for the classical guitar. Furthermore, the album "Alma y Corazón" provided the opportunity for concert tours with Carlos Barbosa-Lima.

In addition, she is continually enriching her own artistic career through frequent international tours, presenting concerts and giving master classes. She is firmly committed to furthering and disseminating the classical guitar. This has a particular focus on promoting the music of her country, Paraguay, as well as Latin American music, and includes her ongoing support to the careers of young upcoming artists.

She has created, in 2009, the first online classical guitar competition - the Barrios World Wide Web Competition. With two editions already held, the project continues to generate tremendous interest throughout the guitar world.

 She was also the artistic director of the three editions of the Ibero-American Guitar Festival held at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and co-founded the young persons' Beatty Music Scholarship Competition for Classical Guitar. The winners of this latter competition had the opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Berta Rojas studied with Felipe Sosa, Violet de Mestral and Abel Carlevaro, among other Paraguayan musical greats. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Escuela Universitaria de Musica in Uruguay where she was a student of Eduardo Fernandez. She later earned a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute under the guidance of Manuel Barrueco.

Rojas has been honored as a Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her artistic excellence. She is also the Ambassador of Tourism of Paraguay.

On Saturday, May 17, Berta Rojas performs for Cebuanos, at 8 p.m., at the Marcelo Fernan Press Center in Lahug. The Arts Council of Cebu is coordinating for this special performance (phone: 233-0452). (FREEMAN)