CESAR TORRES | SoultoneCymbals.com

CESAR TORRES

CESAR TORRES

His preparation as a musician, he started out in the Venezuelan National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs [Sistema Nacional de Orquesta y Coros Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, FESNOJIV], where he entered when he was barely seven years of age. He is a member of the percussionsection of the Caracas Children’s Orchestra [Orquesta Infantil de Caracas], andsometime after, he became a member and the lead in the percussion section of theTeresa Carreño youth orchestra for four years.
In this academicinstitution,he consolidatedas aprofessionalmusicianofclassical percussion, constantlyparticipatingin concertsandpresentationsin Caracas, and throughout the country. He was a member of the Chacao Youth Symphony Orchestra[Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Chacao], and went on the National Tour with the Caracas Youth Symphony Orchestra[Orquesta Sinfónica Infantil de Caracas].
He strengthened his position, furthermore, as one of the teachers of percussionand rhythm for the children of the Children’s Symphony Orchestra[Orquesta Sinfónica Infantil]in seven different centers around Caracas, including little one with special requirements. After this, he was a teacher at the Prison Orchestra of the National Institute of Feminine Orientation [Orquesta Penitenciaria del Instituto Nacional de Orientación Femenina, INOF].
He was chosen for the “MasterClasses for the Principals” by the “Berlin PhilharmonicOrchestra” taught by professor Rainer Seegers. Additionally for the master classes of maracas by professor Juan Ernesto Laya (the official maracas player of the Gurrufío group). He became a member of the Simón Bolívar Concert Band[Banda Sinfónica Simón Bolívar]during its tour around Venezuela and Colombia.
He was invitedtosixof the Los Llanos International Percussion Festivals [Festivales Internacionales de Percusiónde Los Llanos], and was also selected for important seminarsdelivered by professors Fernando Ruiz and José Alicea. He was also invited to three of the Beethovenfestivals; the first at theAula Magnaof theUniversidad Central de Venezuela, and the other two at theTeatro Teresa Carreño.
On this same stage, the most important in the cultural area in Caracas, he participated in the Encounter of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestraof the New England Conservatory with theVenezuelan Youth Orchestras.
Atthe age of 20, he sought other goals to continue his growth as an artist, he decided to create his own ensemble, and founded the musical group, SonArte, with other professionals of his tenor and the same training in the Systemof Orchestras.
Theprojectgained strength, and became Takto Percusión Urbana, dedicated to playing afro Caribbean music with non-conventional instruments such as recycling material and scrap metal. They performed in national film and theater festivals; in Olga Tañón’s national tour, and they shared stage of the Teatro Teresa Carreñowith Gilberto Santa Rosa.
He became a pioneerof theurban percussionin Venezuela, characterizedfor its innovation and renewal; he incorporated a new instrument, the tubófono, made out of recyclable plastic tubes, whose music is merged with electronicmusic.
He was a guest member of the percussion section of the charity gala Salud y Armonía [Health and Harmony] with the organization, Siman Orchestral Foundation, in November 2015, directed by maestro Eduardo Marturet at Doral, Miami. And later, this sameinstitution invited him to teach his UrbanPercussion program forchildren.
He has a“Premio a la Excelencia”[ExcellencyAward]awarded by the Simón Bolívar Musical Foundation[Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar], to commemoratehis talentandeducational techniqueswhen teaching music to children and young people. This organizationalso awarded him a recognition for his Trajectory, with which it applauded his skills at classicalpercussion, hisconstant workto develop himself as a musician, and his dedicationtoeducation.
In theinternational arena, he hasreceived twoawards from the VenezuelanMara de Oro Foundation [Fundación Mara de Oro de Venezuela]; “Percussionistof theYear” in 2013, and “Promoter of Urban Music with non-ConventionalInstruments” in 2015. This is the oldest and most renownedorganizationin Venezuela and the Caribbean, rewards and encourages talentin the culturalarea.
Currently, he directs a new musical project in process, together with Martha Paredes and Oreste Gómez, participants of the Los Angeles NAMM Show, principal music conventionin America, just like Torres.
The idea is to join musical,production,and theatricaltalents, createnew rhythms, based on urban percussion, withnew instruments, proving that music can be made with anything and everything around us. Orestes Gómez, apart from his input as a musician, is in charge of producingand editing the finaloutcome.
Cesar Torres living in Miami, USA since 2017, hasdriven his musical career on a largescale, he is a member of the Siman Orchestral Foundation as a full-timeprofessor of thepercussion chair. He has engaged in various opportunitiesin importantevents together with the Siman Orchestral Foundation in the city of Miami, such as the Davis Cup, Ismael Cala Foundation’s charity gala. He was also a member of the percussion section of the FIU in the closing end-of-yearconcert; he hasdelivered courses at the FIU summer camp with his urban percussion project, Takto Urban Percussion for children; he also engaged in the musical independencewith his new project, which began in Caracas, Venezuela, and which continued developing in the city of Miami, turning it into an urban, theatrical, artisticperformance full of musicalmovements and merges that make it a unique project, demanding a high standard of himself and of the members¬.He had the opportunityof performing with his project at the Art Basel of the city of Miami 2017.
In January, 2018, he received the invitation, in his capacity as an artist of the renowned Vilera Productions Entertainment at the festival of the NAMM. This is the most relevant musical conventioncarried out in the United States, being a member of the range of professional musicians with a long trajectory and a worldwide recognition, just like the brands and instrument houses participating at the convention. From this date onwards, Cesar Torres started being a part of the Soultone Cymbals as a musician of the firmsponsored by them with a signed contractfor two years starting in January, 2018
During this year he has collaborated in many projects with different ensembles like. The Miami brass Quintet, the Susan Siman foundation, known as Siman of ORG, Sam as sessions as invited with others bands and also with his own project called TAKTO Miami, project based in recyclable material to play urban percussion, also played at the closing of the exposure of the recognized artist Edo Ilustrado at Wynwood district.
He has been part of different performances at Telemundo channel and Univision channel and The American Airlines Arena at Miami (AAA) as part of the talented team of musicians of PMS ENTERTAINMENT WORLDWIDE LLC. Being part of this team has giving him the chance to be in stage with worldwide known singers like Reik, Victor Manuel, Prince Royce, Diego Torres, Paulina Rubio, among others.
Currently he is developing a new project based on electronics rhythms merging them with afro percussion and Latin roots. Project that is about to be released on the main music providers and the mains platforms of social media this first quarter of 2019

My Soultone Set: 

18" FXO 6B3
17" FXO 12