Claudio Ragazzi

Composer and guitarist Claudio Ragazzi has been writing award winning music for film and television, scoring hundreds of projects and performing with some of today's most respected musicians at renowned concert halls in the world. Claudio attended Berklee College of Music where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, a winner of the prestigious Duke Ellington Master's Award and the Boston Music Awards, Claudio went on to compose music for feature films, documentaries and television commercials as well as undertaking commissioned works for plays and ballets. In 1998 he scored Brad Anderson's hit film Next Stop Wonderland produced by Miramax, featuring Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto. The CD reached Billboard's top ten chart for more than twelve consecutive weeks. Other production credits include scoring the music for the award winning film, The Blue Diner and a unique collaboration with fellow composer Mason Daring working on the music for John Sayle's film Casa de los Babys. Claudio's work can also be heard in Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves. Recent films and collaborations include working with fellow argentinean composer Osvaldo Golijov on Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro and award winning films at the Sundance Film Festival, The Last Mountain and To Catch a Dollar. Claudio has scored hundreds of TV productions for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, Telemundo, Univision and PBS, including American Experience, NOVA and the children series Sesame Street, Arthur, and Postcards from Buster. ClaudioÕs live performances include those at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, The Blue Note Jazz Club, The Lincoln Center and in theatres around the world. He has performed with some of today's most influential and respected musicians, including Gary Burton, Yo-Yo Ma, Randy Brecker, Danilo Perez, saxophone legends Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett and Paquito DÕRivera. Claudio has won numerous awards including a regional Emmy and a nomination for a national Emmy, grants from The Rockefeller Foundation, The New England Foundation for the Arts and The Massachusetts Council for the Arts. Special commissions include those with the Boston Ballet, the New England Conservatory and the Meet the Composer Grant Program among others. A native of Argentina, Claudio grew up in Buenos Aires, where he started playing music at a very early age performing with some of Argentina's most influential musicians including Tango master Rodolfo Mederos and sharing the stage with Luis Alberto Spinetta, Litto Nebbia and Antonio Agri. Claudio studied composition and arranging with Rodolfo Alchourron in Argentina, jazz improvisation with Gary Burton, orchestration with Mike Gibbs and jazz arranging and composition with Herb Pomeroy.