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MI BIO

WHO AM I

Born in Camaguey, Cuba, in 1960, Mauricio J. Rodriguez is one of his generation’s most influential bass players in Cuba. He started his studies at the age of 13 in the Provincial School of Art de Camaguey and graduated from the Center of Professional and Artistic Development in Camaguey. His professors include Silvio Vergara, Orestes Urfé, Rafael Lay, and Armando Romeo, who were important figures in the historical development of Cuban music.

Influenced by the musical movements of the 70s and 80s, he had the opportunity to play different styles of music, from classical to jazz. This has given him knowledge of different styles that allow him to adapt to any artistic demand.

In 1989 he moved back to his hometown to work as Assistant Principal Bass in the Camaguey Symphony Orchestra, where he participates in II, IV y V National Festivals of Symphonies Orchestras; I y II National Chamber Music Festivals; I Festival of Contemporary Music, performing for the first time as a soloist Pedro Martinez Acosta’s Double Bass masterpiece; recording of the first music production of the Camaguey Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, he starts as a double bass teacher and electric bass for the Center of Professional and Artistic Development in Camaguey.

After three years of playing with the symphony, he joined Miguel Escalona’s quartet, who was co-founder of the Nueva Trova movement in Cuba. With this band, he was involved in many tours around the country, including TV and radio shows.

Stimulated by the jazz movement of the 80s, Mauricio joined the Fervet Opus as a bass player—one of the most important Latin-jazz quartets in Cuba for their unique musical rhythms and styles. With this band he made many national and international tours, including presentations in the I and II Camaguey’s popular music festivals; VII, VIII, IX, XI, and XII Festivals Jazz Latino Plaza in Havana, Cuba.; International Festival of Popular Music Varadero ’88, Jazz Jamboree, Bratislava and Belgrade.

He intervened in the music co-production of the ballet Altazor of choreographer Lazaro Martinez, with the first dancer of Ballet National of Cuba of Alicia Alonso, Jorge Esquivel, and actor Adolfo Llauradó. He has also recorded music composed for Julian Blanco for Ballet and Theater.

Due to his professional achievement, he was assigned as a teacher and national supervisor for the Center of Professional and Artistic Development in Camaguey and the eastern region of Cuba, a member of the National Evaluation Commission for professional musicians in Cuba, a technical supervisor for the Cuban Music Institute, and a member of the jury in music colleges.

After this period with the Fervet Opus’s quartet, he joined the classical string quintet “Union” of Cuba for over three years as a double bassist. He moved to Venezuela under a contract as a Master of the bass section of the Aragua Symphony Orchestra.

Mauricio has directed workshops and seminars on double bass, composition, orchestration, and arranging techniques. His compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Aragua Symphony Orchestra in regular concerts and festivals and recordings. He taught harmony at the UPEL Institute, electric bass and double bass, composition, and orchestration seminars at the Opera Theater in Maracay, Edo. Aragua, Venezuela.

In 2001 he moved to the USA, where his performance was well received in the music community, inviting him to perform with different bands and ensembles, Guisando Caliente, Trilogy Latin Jazz Trio, and Adrianna Foster’s band, to name a few.  Currently, he is at Saint Leo University as an Adjunct professor of music.  His degrees include two Master of Music Performance, one from Cuba and the another from the University of South Florida, and studies at the University of Miami in Jazz Studio Writing.

As an Orchestrator, Chi-chi Nwanoku from Chineke! Foundation commissioned him to orchestrate ‘Au penchant qui nous entrâine’ by Chevalier de Saint‐Georges (1745-1799), performed at the Prom 62, 2017, BBC Proms.

As a composer, his music has been performed around the world, from Symphony orchestras to soloists. He is the composer of Love and Betrayal, a fantasy about themes from Carmen by Bizet for two Double Basses and symphony orchestra. Yet, for Mauricio, his compositions, his double bass playing, narrate his passion for music, but the Latin flavor to his compositions and his music truly capture the spirit of the man and his humble beginnings. Nowhere is this more evident than in his long-awaited album “Luz,” which was released July 9, 2021, at the St Petersburg Latin Jazz Festival to excellent reviews by the specialized press.

COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE
Copyright 2020 - Mauricio J Rodriguez
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