Miami, FL
Guitarist and composer Alvaro Bermudez is a native of White Plains, New York. After completing high school in Palmira, Colombia, he returned to the United States to begin collegiate studies in music.
Alvaro has been recognized for his “fine…contemporary choral music,” which has been described as “lovely” and “contagious.” (South Florida Classical Review, Music in Cincinnati, & Miami Clásica) Seraphic Fire, Miami’s Grammy-nominated Professional Chamber Ensemble, commissioned Alvaro to write Padre Nuestro, a setting of the Lord’s Prayer, which was premiered by the group in 2007. He was also commissioned by Seraphic Fire to write Mi Amado para Mi, in 2008 and a setting of the first chapter of the Song of Solomon entitled Kisses of His Mouth, which premiered in 2009. Universities and professional groups throughout the United States and South and Central America have since performed Alvaro’s compositions and commissioned him to write new works. In 2016, he was chosen to fulfill the annual Lee Kjelson Choral Commission for the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami, which honors the late Dr. Lee Kjelson, founder of the group and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Miami for over 30 years. In 2017, his work, Orpheus with His Lute, was premiered by Seraphic Fire and was praised by critics for its “lovely…melody” and “finely gauged and idiomatic writing” for the women’s voices. (South Florida Classical Review.) In 2020, Alvaro was the recipient of a Knight Foundation New Work Award to write Danzas del Silencio, a compelling, innovative choral and guitar collaboration with Seraphic Fire in partnership with the New World Center that blends Colombian dance rhythms with Bach’s orchestral structure.
Alvaro is a guitarist in high demand all over South Florida. His Latin trio, “Trio Los Clasicos,” plays regularly in the Miami area and has been engaged for performances in Atlanta, Georgia and Boston, Massachusetts. Alvaro has collaborated with “The French Horn Collective,” a Miami-based ensemble specializing in French Gypsy Jazz, featured at the Gainesville Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Art Museum Concert Series, and Jazz at MOCA. Alvaro plays regularly with South Florida’s finest jazz and classical musicians and is frequently engaged for studio recordings. In addition, Alvaro has partnered with his wife, mezzo-soprano Misty L. Bermudez, to present song recitals for arts organizations such as the Community Arts Program in Coral Gables, FL, and Illuminarts in Miami. He served as the guitarist for Florida Grand Opera’s production of Frida, by Robert Xavier Rodriguez in 2019.
Alvaro currently heads the guitar program at Ronald Reagan Senior High School’s Classical Arts Academy in Doral, Florida. His students have been featured in the FMEA All-State Guitar Ensemble and have been admitted to fine college programs around the nation, such as the Berklee College of Music and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. In 2018 and 2021, Alvaro was chosen to be the clinician and conductor for the Superintendent’s Honors Guitar Festival, a group featuring the finest student guitarists from South Florida high schools.
Alvaro holds the Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Music Degree from Florida International University in Jazz Studies with an emphasis in guitar.
