Gonzalo Teppa

Gonzalo Teppa began studying music at the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory in his home city Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In June of 1995, he traveled to Spain to study with the renowned teacher Ludwig Streicher in Santander. In the fall of 1995, he finished the double bass program studies at the Simón Bolivar Conservatory in Caracas with Nestor Blanco. From 1991 to 1995, he was a member of the Symphony Orchestra of Lara in Venezuela, and in September, 1995, he joined the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela from EL SISTEMA, with conductor Gustavo Dudamel . In 2002, Mr. Teppa enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and he obtained a BM in Double Bass Performance under the guidance of Paul Erhard. In 2007, Gonzalo finished the Masters of Music in Jazz Studies and Double Bass Performance with Professor Mark Simon at the University of Colorado. In the Jazz genre, Teppa has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Matt Wilson, Ed Simon, Chris Potter, Tom Harrell, Ron Miles, Art Lande, Slide Hampton, Don Byron, Jeremy Pelt, Otmaro Ruíz, among many others.

Teppa won the "Honor Competition Award" from the University of Colorado. In March, of 2004, 2005 and 2006, Gonzalo won the "Best Jazz Soloist Awards" from Downbeat Magazine. In April of 2004 and 2005, he won the "Best Jazz Soloist Award" at the Greeley Jazz Festival in Colorado. In 2014, Teppa was nominated with two Latin Grammys: "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" and "Best Latin Jazz Album", for his participation on the recordings Tiempo by Linda Briceño; and 3rd Element by Luisito Quintero respectively. A very active composer, Gonzalo has released five CD's: Designios, Travesias, Serpentina, CONtrabajos de Aldemaro and Sinergia, in which he blended elements of Venezuelan music with different cultural influences of the world. In 2015, Gonzalo Teppa was appointed as the Professor of the Double Bass Studio at the University of Wyoming at Laramie, and he also earned the position of a Faculty member of the Metropolitan State University of Denver, CO, for the Jazz Department.

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