Carlos Vera Larrucea
Originally from Santiago de Chile, Carlos has developed to be one of the most prominent Chilean musicians. He holds a Bachelor Degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Master’s Degree from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Germany, where he met his mentor, the renowned soloist and teacher Dr. Peter Sadlo.
He has received several prizes and scholarships from the Chilean Government and the KAAD organization (German Catholic Academic Exchange Service) to continue his studies. Carlos took private lessons with soloists from some of the world’s greatest orchestras: Raymond Curfs (Bavarian Radio Orchestra), Wieland Welzel (Berlin Philharmonic), Roland Altman (Vienna Philharmonic), Cynthia Yeh (Chicago Symphony), Markus Rothen and Christopher Lamb (New York Philharmonic), to name a few.
Carlos' Adams Gear
Carlos has performed as soloist and with various orchestras and chamber ensembles in festivals and meetings held in Japan, Qatar, Egypt, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Norway, Germany and USA. Between 2009 and 2010 he was a member of the Mannheim Nationaltheaterorchester, Germany, and then he joined the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra as Assistant Timpani and Principal Percussionist until 2015, when he traveled back to Munich to be part of the percussion section in the Bavarian State Opera, under the baton of Kiril Petrenko. He has held a Principal Percussionist position with this orchestra since 2017.
In addition to his formal education, and with the paramount guidance of his father, he has been deeply engaged in the language of jazz as a vibraphonist. Since 2000, Carlos has taken private lessons with renowned vibes artists such as David Friedman, Bill Molenhof, Warren Wolf and Stefon Harris.
He is a leading member of OPERcussion, The Percussion Ensemble from the Bavarian State Opera, and has appeared as a jazz vibes player at major jazz festivals and clubs in cities like Sapporo, Tokyo, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Santiago. With his latest project in New York, “Novas Trio”, a trio with no bass, he released the album "Borderline" in 2013, which was recognized as one of the 60 best releases of the year. In 2016 they released their second album "Gravity's Empire" in New York. Together with "Novas Trio" he toured the USA, Europe and South America. Last year they released their third studio work, "Time Choir".
Carlos's 2014 recording “Vibraphone Concertos” is a milestone for the vibraphone world. He brought together five works for solo vibraphone and orchestra (piano reduction), something absolutely new in the classical percussion repertoire.
Carlos was Professor of Percussion at Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile (2012–2015), appeared as guest Jazz Vibes lecturer at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM, USA), and since October 2015 has been Orchestra and Mallets Percussion Instructor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München (Germany). In recent years, he has taught at the Hannover Percussion Festival Überschlag, the Escola Superior de la Música Catalana (ESMUC) in Barcelona, Zildjian Day in Munich, and the Percussion meets Identity Festival in Graz, among other teaching activities.
He plays exclusively Adams Percussion Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, and Didier Lacroix Mallets.