Pedro Vega was born In Havana, Cuba on 15th July, 1951. He grew up in a family of musicians and he showed interest in music and percussion instruments since the age of 8. His grandfather , Vicente Vega, led his first steps in the study of music . Next, at the age of 12, he followed taking percussion classes in Havana with the teacher Domingo Aragaº in the Conservatoire Amadeo Roldan and Fausto Garcaa Rivero in the Conservatoires Alejandro Garcaa Caturla and Ignacio Cervantes. Subsequently, once he finished his studies, as a specialist in percussion, he developed his skills in Military Bands and similar Orchestras. He made his debut as a professional in 1973 and he was a part of groups like the group Los Llamas; he was also a founder member of the group Los Yakos, Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini, Julio Ramarez Trao and Caribe Expreso, with which he carried out accompaniment works in several shows for the main theatre and cabaret halls in the capital of Cuba as well as in other towns inside the nation with national and international soloists from Europe and America. Besides, he took part in tours around the four continents representing the well-known Cabaret Tropicana. In Spain he has worked in the dixie, jazz, fusion and latin forms for several groups.
As for teaching duties, he has participated in various events like the ones mentioned below:
· Percussion Week( Saragossa, 1996), performing as a soloist with the group Per-se-cu-sion Ensembla that belonged to the Higher Conservatoire in Saragossa.
· 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Saragossa Percussion Conference in the years 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
· Guest artist in the 2nd Drum and Percussion Fair(Tamborixar,2004) in the town of Hijar (Teruel)
· Ribarroja de Taºria( Valencia) International Percussion Conference(1997): concert with the group Percumania Ensambla from the School of Music of that town as a soloist. From 1997 through 2006, he gave percussion classes in the conference mentioned above.
· He has given Master Classes on Cuban Percussion (history, forms and rhythms) in the Higher Conservatoires of Bilbao, Valencia, Saragossa and in the Mid-Degree Conservatoires of Saragossa, Calahorra, Ribarroja del Taºria. He was also a guest artist in the Conference on Cuba that was held in the Saragossa FNAC multiuse room(1994).
· He took part in the 8th Havana Festival Percuba with an advanced group of his students because he was invited by the Percuba Association, of which he is a member.
· He has worked as the teacher of the percussion classroom in the Peoples School of Music in Saragossa ,and also as a latin percussion, Afro-American percussion and drums teacher in several schools of music in the province of La Rioja.
· He took part in several jazz festivals in Saragossa with the band Free Boleros(1997), with Silvia Oliver & Carlos Torrijo Quartet(1998), with the Cuban trumpeter Rudy Vistel and his Latin Jazz Band in the town of Teruel(1999), and also with the above-mentioned Rudy Vistel and his Big Band in the times of Saragossa Jazz Festival (2001, 2003 and 2005).
FESTIVALS:
My educational activities: Barcelona Drum Festival(2003), arranged by Drum Shop, Supravox S.L., Yamaha Drum Corp., Pearl Drum Corp., Sabian Cymbals and Vic Firth Drumsticks Corp.
CLINIC AND PRESENTATIONS:
· As an endorser for Pearl Percussion, Sabian Cymbals and Vic Firth drum sticks and drum heads Aquarian recently has participated in clinics organized by Suprovox SL, sharing the stage with drummers like Dave Weckl (USA ),Don Famularo (USA), Omar Hakim (USA), Billy Cobham (USA), Steve Ferrone (USA),Virgil Donati ( USA),Vera Figueiredo (Brazil), Ramon Gonzalez (Cuban percussionist), Horacio "The Black" Hernandez (Cuba).
· Sharing my educational activity I work in several musical project:The Rioja Big band, Pedro
Vega Afro latin Jazz, Somera Jazz Project,and luivi Jimenez Quartet.
Currently, as part of his educational task, he is working on the completion of a method of
techniques for the Cuban timbale that will be available shortly to both musicians and latin
percussion students.
