Alberto J. Rodríguez-Ortiz (b. 1971) is among the most active contemporary guitarists and composers of the new generation of Puerto Rican classical musicians. Rodríguez-Ortiz obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, where he studied with three of the most distinguished guitarists of the country: Juan Sorroche, Ernesto Cordero, and Eladio Scharrón. He has studied as well with Carlos Vázquez, Luis Álvarez, Miguel Cubano, Raymond Torres Santos, Carlos Cabrer, Stella Sung, and Francis Schwartz. His participation in master-classes include studies with Flores Chaviano, Miguel Angel Girollet, Malcolm Bilson, Paul O’Dette, William Kannengeiser, Arthur Brooks, José Daniel Martínez and the duo Castellani-Andriaccio. In 1997, he obtained his Master degree in Music and Literature (Guitar) from Eastman School of Music in New York, where he studied with Nicholas Goluses. After teaching guitar and composition for two years at the National Conservatory of Puerto Rico, Rodríguez-Ortiz resumed his studies with Alberto Ponce and Yoshihisa Taïra at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where he recently obtained the “Diplôme de Composition”. Among the various international festivals Rodríguez-Ortiz has participated are the International Guitar Festival of Puerto Rico (2000), where he played among artists such as David Russell, Carlos Barbosa Lima, Antigoni Goni, Iván Rijos; El Salvador’s Contemporary Internatioanl Music Festival (2000), where his compositions were performed; María Escalón de Núñez’s Guitar Festival (El Salvador 2000), where he was invited as guitarist, composer, guest professor, and lecturer; Second Twentieth Century Music Festival (San Juan, Puerto Rico 1999). In 1997, he was invited as composer in residence at The Rome Festival. Rodríguez-Ortiz has also performed in cities such as Paris, Vienna, and New York. In the latter, he made his debut as part of the series “Música de Cámara, Inc.”, where he presented his song cycle “Sonetos de Amor”. He has performed extensively with the guitar trio “Matices”, ensemble that received the first prize at Puerto Rico’s Chamber Music Festival in 1994 with his composition “Invocando a Yúcahu”. In the year 2000, Rodríguez-Ortiz inaugurated the series “New Faces”, sponsored by F.A.M.A. and the Casa de España in Puerto Rico. In duo with Dr. Eladio Scharrón, they have been praised by the critics as “two virtuosos of the guitar with great capabilities for interpretation and complete technical dominance”. Recently, the Puerto Rican newspaper “El Nuevo D ía” described him as a performer “with refined technique, great agility, and plenty of tenderness”. Rodríguez-Ortiz currently resides in Paris. His compositions are distributed by Tuscany and Querico Publications.
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