Miguel Rivera

Miguel Rivera is a member of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and the Casals Festival Orchestra since 1993.

In 1995 he made his solo debut with the Puerto Rico Symphony premiering for the first time in Puerto Rico the Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra. He began his musical studies in his native San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Escuela Libre de Música with Antonio Salcedo and at the age of 14 was featured as soloist with the Arturo Somohano Philharmonic and the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de San Juan. In 1981 he performed Arthur Prior’s Blue Bells of Scotland with his High School Band at a Concert in the Conservatory of Puerto Rico and he was offered a Scholarship but decided to continue studies abroad. At 16 he became the first Puerto Rican member of the McDonalds All American High School Band and traveled to New York City where he played with the band in Carnegie Hall and the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade. In 1981 he attended to the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro North Carolina and won the Concerto Competition and was the featured as soloist with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra playing the Gordon Jacobs Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra. Mr. Rivera continued his musical training at the Indiana University School of Music where he studied with Keith Brown, M. Dee Stewart and Lewis van Haney. At Indiana he was awarded the Performer Certificate by unanimous decision and later he was admitted by Janos Starker in the prestigious Artist Diploma program. He completed his BM at Indiana with the help of Grants and Scholarships from the New York Philharmonic Assistance Fund, The Corporacion de Las Artes Musicales de Puerto Rico and grants of Competitions he won like the Latino Affair Award, and the Granville Award Concerto Competition. He also won the Washington National Arts and Letters Competition Award. Later on he attended at Master Classes and Seminars with Christian Lindberg and Michael Bequet. Mr. Rivera has also studied privately with Joe Alessi and attended to his seminars as a participant in 1999 and 2001, 2007.

Mr. Rivera is an Artist and Clinician for the Edwards Instruments Company and maintains a busy schedule performing solos with orchestras and bands, recitals, master classes and chamber concerts with his Trombone Quartet “Cuatro Vientos” formed by members of the Low Brass of the Puerto Rico Symphony, Luis Fred, Ramon Serra and Ruben Ramirez (tuba). Throughout his career he has perform with Symphony Orchestras and has done Master Classes and Recitals in many important cities and countries including United Sates, Canada, Japan, South Corea, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Venezuela, Curazao, The US Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Swisszerland, Checoslovakia, Italy, France, among other countries. He has played under the baton of such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein, Michael Thilson Thomas, Christopher Essenbach, Frubeck De Burgos, Luis Antonio Garcia Navarro, Stanislav Skrovachevsky among many others. He is a founding member of the New World Symphony Orchestra of Miami where he played under the baton of Michael Thilson Thomas (1987-89). In 1989 he was appointed Solo Trombone of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra in Spain where he was a featured soloist with the orchestra in several occasions performing works like the Paul Creston Fantasy and the Frank Martin Concerto for Wind Instruments those works were featured in national radio broadcasts. He founded the Barcelona Trombone Cuartet in 1990 and played many concerts at The Salo de Cent and Schools thru out Barcelona and vicinities. The members of that Quartet were, Ricardo Casero, Gaspar Montesinos and Raul Garcia. With the Barcelona Symphony he tour Japan playing Bolero trombone solo in more than 25 occasions. He was also Solo Trombonist with the Teatre Lliure of Barcelona Orchestra 1990-93.
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He has collaborated with such orchestras as The Naples Philharmonic, The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, The Bloomington Symphony, Orquesta Nacional de Costa Rica and The Gran Teatro del Liceo Orchestra among others. In 2005 he was a winner of the Puerto Rico Symphony Instrumental Competition and tour with the Puerto Rico Symphony playing the David Concertino. Last year Mr. Rivera performed the premiere of the Michael Haydn Concerto for alto trombone and horn in Puerto Rico. Mr. Rivera has collaborated in hundreds of recordings with such greats as Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony.

Miguel Rivera teaches trombone and is the Director of the Brass Choir at the Interamerican University in San German, Puerto Rico. He also teaches trombone at the Antonio Paoli School of Music in Caguas, Puerto Rico.