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Rolando Morales-Matos

Rolando Morales-Matos is a well sought after Latin, Jazz, and Classical percussionist. He is a member of the Ron Carter Foursight Quartet, a percussionist and an Assistant Conductor of the Broadway musical The Lion King in New York City, and frequently plays with The Philadelphia Orchestra as an extra percussionist. He has performed and/or recorded with artists and groups such as Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Dave Valentine, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Nexus Percussion Group, The Birdland Big Band, among others. He has recorded movie sound tracks including Failure To Launch, The Pink Panther and appears playing on screen in the Disney film Enchanted. In 2006, Morales-Matos was the recipient of Drum Magazine's World Beat Percussionist of the Year Award. Rolando has developed unique vocabularies of playing melodies on non-pitched instruments such as drums, cowbells, cymbals, and more. In 2008, he released his solo album “From The Earth” featuring the Hang Drum.

Before arriving in New York City, he was Principle Percussionist with Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia in Spain, the Guest Principle Timpanist with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and frequently performed with Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony as an extra percussionist. He has also toured the Caribbean, the United States, and Europe with many salsa and popular bands.

Morales-Matos is a faculty member at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC and New Jersey City University and gives clinics and master classes at many universities. He has given clinics at PASIC in 1999,2001, and 2003.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Morales-Matos began his musical studies at the prestigious high school for the performing arts, Escuela Libre de Música and started touring with the popular artist at the age of 15. He moved to the States and received his Bachelor’s degree in Classical Percussion Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, Master’s degree from Duquesne University, and Certificate of Professional Studies from Temple University.

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