Berta Rojas
Classical Guitar
brojas@starpower.net
ext. 44401
Phillips Hall B-113

Bachelor of Music, Escuela Universitaria de Musica, Uruguay, 1996;
Masters Degree in Music, Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland, 1998
Born in Paraguay, Berta Rojas has brought her lyrical gifts to such far-reaching cities as London, Salzburg, Vienna, Bonn, Rome, Budapest, Paris, Brussels, Taipei, Seoul, New York, Washington, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Caracas, Bogota, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Mrs. Rojas was invited to perform at the opening of the International First Ladies Summit in Paraguay attended by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Praised by the Washington Post as a "guitarist extraordinaire", Berta Rojas is a Dorian Recordings® artist, with two CDs released: "Concierto Latinoamericano" (DIS-80159) and "Intimate Barrios" (DOR-93167). The latter recording was selected by Gramophone UK to the "Guide to the Best Recording you can buy" for Latin American Music. Her latest CD in a duo with guitarist Juan Cancio Barreto and released in Paraguay, sold 21,000 copies in that country alone.

The vibrancy of her performances has captivated music-lovers in such prestigious venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York and the South Bank Centre in London. Subscribers to the John Marlow Guitar Series in Washington DC acclaimed her as "favorite of the series" in 1996.

In 1996 the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. selected Ms Rojas as a Kennedy Center Fellow of the Americas for the Performing Arts in recognition of artistic excellence. This fellowship, as well as the one granted by the Organization of American States in 1997, allowed Ms. Rojas to undertake post-graduate studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a Masters Degree in Music with honors, a Graduate Performance Diploma and was awarded with the Zaidee Thomas Award (1998) and Harold Randolph Prizes (1999). She also holds a Bachelors degree in Guitar from the Escuela Universitaria de Musica, Uruguay. Her teachers have included Abel Carlevaro, Eduardo Fernandez, and Mario Payseé in Uruguay; Felipe Sosa and Violeta de Mestral in Paraguay; and Manuel Barrueco, Ray Chester and Julian Gray in the USA.

Berta Rojas was the Artistic Director of the "Agustin Barrios International Festival" in Paraguay, held to honor the great Paraguayan guitarist, and the Artistic Director of "Concurso de Interpretacion Ciudad de Asuncion" and the "Premio Cardozo Ocampo," competitions she has designed to help the careers of young artists in her native country, Paraguay.

Berta Rojas has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions for her contributions to Paraguayan cultural life. These include being honored as the "Personality of the Year 2000" (Revista Cartelera) and "Outstanding Young Personality of the Year" (Junior Chamber, 1992).