Alfredo Muro

Alfredo Muro was born in Lima, Peru. At the age of ten, he began teaching himself to play the guitar and he progressed rapidly. He was soon awarded a scholarship to study with Maestro Jose Pepe Torres at his Guitar Academy.

At age thirteen, Mr. Muro took the top prize in a nationally televised competition, featuring musicians from more than one hundred schools. In 1971, he won the year-long TV program, "Trampoline to Fame".

Mr. Muro continued his studies with two of the greatest Peruvian guitar masters, Octavio Ticona and Carlos Hayre, gaining mastery of harmonic theory and the rich variety of Peruvian folklore. After four years of intense studies he moved to the United States to broaden his musical skills studying with great masters Manuel Lopez Ramos, Frank Costa and John Doan.

Mr. Muro had the honor of representing Peru at the 16th Annual International Guitar Festival -2005 in Lima and for the second time at the 5th Annual International Guitar Festival-2007 in Arequipa. These juried events featured artists from 13 countries, including Spain, Germany, Sweden, the United States, Argentina and Japan. In 2008, Mr. Muro was invited to participate at the Entre Cuerdas International Guitar Festival in Chile and at the First International Guitar Festival in Junin de los Andes in Argentina.

While on tour in Europe, Mr. Muro played with his group Oro Del Peru for the late Pope John Paul the Second at a "Special Audience" at the Vatican.

Over the years he has been invited to participate in many international guitar seminars, and has been selected for Master Classes with some of the World's premier guitarists, such as Manuel Lopez Ramos (Argentina), Carlos Barbosa-Lima (Brazil) and Alfredo Escande (Uruguay). In addition, Mr. Muro has appeared on numerous recordings, stage, radio, and television programs.

Mr. Muro has presented concerts in the Italy, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile and in many venues throughout the United States. In 2007, he had the privilege to be the featured artist at the Kennedy Center for the Millennium Concert Series in Washington D.C. and at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Mr. Muro is not only an accomplished soloist, but is also an arranger and composer. His work as an accompanist has also won critical acclaim. In 1999, Mr. Muro released a solo CD, "Journey Through The Strings" to rave reviews, with the honor of having international artist Jose Feliciano endorse the CD. Mr. Muro has released four other CD's: "The Musical Sea", "Alfredo Muro and Friends Live at St. Gertrude Monastery", "Alma Brasileira" and his latest solo guitar works "Alma Brasileira, Volume 2". Another important project in progress is the publication of his transcriptions of selected Brazilian solo guitar works and his new CD "Latin Impressions" to be released March 2009.

His Repertoire ranges from classical music to Latin American and Spanish music, and from the Beatles, Baden Powell and Jobim, to Bach and Handel. Mr. Muro has a special love of Brazilian music. He has studied and mastered the intricate styles of Choro, Samba, Frevo, Bossa Nova and Afro-samba and interprets many South American composers such as Villa-Lobos, Barrios and Lauro with aplomb.

In March of 2005, Mr. Muro was selected for the Jack Rosenberg Memorial, Musician of the Month Award, by the Jazz Society of Oregon in their Jazzscene magazine. The Centinela Newspaper in Portland, Oregon, featured Mr. Muro as the "Hispanic of the Month". The Hispanic Yellow Pages Directory introduced him as the "Pride of the Hispanic Community".

Mr. Muro and his wife reside in Portland, Oregon.