Berta Rojas ranks among today’s foremost classicalguita- rists.Shehasbeenpraisedas“guitaristextraordinaire”bythe Washington Post and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “Ambassador of the classical guitar”.
She has been nominated three times for a Latin Grammy Award; in the category of Best Instrumental Album for Díay Medio - A Day and a Half, a duet with Paquito D'Rivera (2012),in the category of Best ClassicalAlbum,for her album Salsa Roja (2014),and more recently in the category of Best Tango Album,for her albumHistory of Tango (2015),recorded with the Camerata Bariloche.
Berta’s acknowledged warmth and musicality have accorded her a place of preference among audiences that have applauded her at such major stages as the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall and the Frederick P. Rose Hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, London’s South Bank Centre, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.,the National Concert Hallin Dublin where she performed as a soloist with the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra, as well as the Flagley Studio 4 in Brussels where she performed with the Brussels Philhar- monic Orchestrafor the Belgian N Television.
In 2011, Berta, along with Paquito D’Rivera as guest star, initiated the four-year tour “In the Footsteps of Mangoré” which followed the travels of Agustín Barrios, pioneer of the classical guitar in the Americas. The duo performed in 20 Latin American and Caribbean cou-n tries, concluding the journey at the national theater of celebrated composer.
Her performances as a soloist showcase her mastery in terms of interpretation and technique. Berta takes the audience of each concert on a colorful journey of sounds embracing new works by composers of diverse genres. This is echoed in her discography which includes recordings such as Cielo Abierto (2006) and Terruño (2009), as well as the duo with Carlos Bar-bo sa-Lima in Alma y Corazón (2007) and the celebrated great Paraguayan composer and guitarist, Agustín Barrios.
In addition to continually enriching her own artistic career through frequent international tours giving committed to furthering and disseminating the class-i cal guitar. A particular focus is on promoting the music of her country, Paraguay, as well as Latin American music, and ongoing support for the careers of young, upcoming artists.
guitar competition, the Barrios World Wide Web Co-m petition in 2009. With two editions already held, it continues to generate tremendous interest through- out the guitar world.
Additionally, Berta was the Artistic Director of the three three editions of the Ibero-American Guitar Festival at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and co-founded the Beatty Music Scholarship Competition for Classical Guitar for youth, garnering the winners an opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Berta Rojas first studied with Felipe Sosa, Violeta de Mestral in her native Paraguay. She then moved to Uruguay to study under Abel Carlevaro, and went on to get a Bachelor of Music degree from the Escuela Uni- versitaria de Música there as a student of Eduardo Fernández, while also taking lessons with Mario Payseé. She went on and added a Master of Music degree from Peabody Institute under the guidance of Manuel Barrueco. At Peabody, she also took lessons with Ray Chester and Julian Gray.
Over the last few years many honors have been bestowed on Berta. In 2015 she was named “Illustrious Ambassador of Paraguayan Musical Arts” by the Chamber of Senators and given the National Order of Comuneros by the Cham- ber of Deputies. In the same year, the Cabildo of her country named her “Master of Arts. In 2016 the Autono- mous University of Encarnación and the Universidad Americana of Asunción bestowed upon her Honorary Doctorate Degrees. And for her outstanding work on behalf of culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded her the National Order of Merit “Don José Falcón” in 2017.
Rojas has been honored as a Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her artistic excellence. In a 2014 publication, the news agency EFE deems her one of the most influential women in the Hispanic World.