Guido López-Gavilán del Rosario, Cuban conductor and composer, was born on January 3, 1944, in the province of Matanzas. His parents were singers and rehearsed at home with the Taicuba quartet. His mother gave him piano lessons, and his father taught him his first guitar chords.

He completed his early studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Havana. He graduated in 1966 with a degree in Choral Conducting from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory (Rastro No. 1 and Espada, Centro Habana, Havana). In 1970, he enrolled at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow until 1973, when he completed his academic training. From that year on, he served as guest conductor of the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra.

For years, Guido López-Gavilán has supported the development of the Cuban Youth Symphony Movement. His efforts to promote the creation of symphony and chamber orchestras are noteworthy. An example of this is his founding and conducting of the Camerata Brindis de Salas in the late 1970s.

Since 1995, he has founded and directed the Música Eterna Chamber Orchestra, combining his artistic and educational work to bring to light his deep passion for universal music. With this chamber orchestra, he won the 2001 Cubadisco Award in the chamber music category for his album Barroco Trópico.

Guido López-Gavilán has been conducting the Amadeo Roldán Youth Philharmonic Orchestra for several years, along with Maestro Daiana García Siverio. This ensemble is part of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory (Rastro No. 1 and Espada, Centro Habana, Havana), where they have begun the beautiful task of introducing students to scores from the universal symphonic repertoire.

He has conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Camagüey, and Oriente. He was President of the Music Section of the Hermanos Saíz Association (National Address: Pabellón Cuba, Calle 23 e/ N y M. Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana), and currently heads the Musicians Association of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) (Calle 17 e/ G y H, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana).

Guido López-Gavilán is a Founding Member of the College of Latin American Art Music Composers and also chairs the Havana Contemporary Music Festival. He also serves as Head of the Orchestral Conducting Department and is a Full Professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) (1110 Calle 120 between 9th and 13th, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana).

Maestro Guido is a persistent promoter of Cuban culture; an example of this is his program Nosotros, la Música (We, the Music) on Radio Progreso, where he won awards at the National Radio Festivals for his distinguished broadcasts and his work as a communicator and educator.

He has won awards in competitions such as the National Composition Competition convened by UNEAC and the Adolfo Guzmán Cuban Music Competition, as well as at the New Music Festival in Winnipeg, Canada, where he won the Audience Award.

He has performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Poland; at the Great Hall of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary; and at the Lisinsky Theatre in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. With the Carlos Chávez Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, he was awarded the Most Outstanding Foreign Conductor Award in the 1991 season.

López-Gavilán has participated in important events such as the Inter-American Composition Meeting organized by Indiana University, USA; the Sounds of the Americas Festival organized by the American Composer Orchestra; the Ibero-American Music Festival, Spain; the Latin American and Caribbean Music Tribune, Argentina; the Franco Donatoni Festival, Mexico; the 8th Caribbean Composers Forum, Caracas, Venezuela; the El Salvador Contemporary Music Festival; and the Oregon Bach Festival, where his compositions were performed with great success.

His compositions emphasize musicality and elegance. His works include: A Modo de Rivenza (A Riddle); Camerata en Guaguancó (Camerata in Guaguancó); Donde Caído mi hermano (Where My Brother Fell), cantata, text: Fayad Jamís; Mi canción (My Song); Cumbanchero Variations (based on a work by Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández); Variants (Choral and Legend); Victoria de esperanza (Victory of Hope), for symphony orchestra, choir, soloists, actors, dance, and film.

As a composer, López-Gavilán has won the following awards: the 26th of July Competition; the Golden Age Children’s Literature and Music Competition; and the Ministry of Culture’s National Composition Competition, among others.

His discography includes the CDs: Cuba and Puerto Rico, by two composers: Guido López-Gavilán and Carlos Vázquez; Por el Mar de las Antillas Anda un Violin; Barroco Trópico; and De Cuba Música eterna (2010). This latest album contains anthological songs from Cuba’s musical heritage from all eras, including Sindo Garay’s La Bayamesa. Aldo López-Gavilán joins the band on piano and makes some productions, Ilmar López-Gavilán on violin, and his wife Teresa Junco (the recently deceased distinguished pianist and teacher) performs the song “Veinte Años” by María Teresa Vera.

His renowned prestige as a composer and symphony conductor are qualities that recognize Guido López-Gavilán as a musician whose name transcends Cuban borders.