Multi–Latin Grammy Award Nominee Berta Rojas Joins Berklee’s Guitar Faculty

Berta Rojas, one of the world’s foremost classical guitarists, will join Berklee’s Guitar Department as an associate professor starting September 1. From Paraguay, Rojas is renowned for her flawless technique and innate musicality. Her performances as a soloist showcase a mastery of interpretation that audiences have witnessed from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland, and the Flagley Studio 4 in Brussels, Belgium, where she performed with the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra for Belgian national television.

"I am honored to be a member of such a prestigious group of talented musicians from different parts of the world that brings their talents to Berklee,” said Rojas. “It means a lot to me to be the first Latin American classical guitarist to become a faculty member at Berklee."

Rojas is a three-time Latin Grammy nominee and has recorded 14 albums. Her 2012 release Día y Medio (A Day and a Half), recorded with Paquito D’Rivera, was nominated for Best Instrumental Album. Salsa Roja (Red Sauce) was nominated for Best Classical Album. Her third nomination came in 2015 for the album History of Tango, recorded with the iconic Camerata Bariloche, a chamber music ensemble from Argentina, which got the nod for Best Tango Album. She’ll release a new album of Brazilian music, Felicidade, this fall. 

Bringing Latin American Music to the Forefront

In 2011, Rojas and D’Rivera initiated the four-year tour In the Footsteps of Mangoré that followed the travels of Agustín Barrios, another Paraguayan regarded as one of the most prolific composers for the classical guitar. The duo performed in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, concluding the journey at the National Theater of El Salvador in San Salvador, the final resting place of the celebrated composer.

Rojas is active in promoting the appreciation of Latin American music, especially from Paraguay, and the classical guitar. She created the first online classical guitar competition, the Barrios World Wide Web Competition, in 2009. She is the recipient of a Bachelor of Music from the Escuela Universitaria de Música in Uruguay, and a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

"We are thrilled to welcome Berta Rojas to the faculty of the Berklee Guitar Department,” said Guitar Department chair Larry Baione. Assistant chair Kim Perlak added, “Berta brings her expertise in classical guitar and Latin classical music to our stylistically diverse faculty community, and to our new relationship with Boston Conservatory at Berklee."