Alejandro Céspedes

Alejandro Céspedes, M.Mus, is an active freelance percussionist and educator who studied at the University of Toronto and Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana, Cuba. He performs classical percussion, body percussion, Latin percussion and steel pan. Céspedes performed with the National Opera and Ballet Orchestra of Cuba and the Niagara, Kingston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. He has performed with Bobby McFerrin, Jane Bunnett, the Buena Vista Social Club, and was featured at the Toronto Body Percussion Festival. He was a musician/dancer/actor for Venom of Love and The Power of Harriet T! Céspedes founded and conducted the steel pan ensembles at Music By The Lake (Toronto District School Board Music Camp) and the Regent Park School of Music, which performed with 2Cellos and events such as the Luminato and Toronto Jazz Festivals. He has also taught percussion at the National Music Camp of Canada, Manuel Saumell and Amadeo Roldán Conservatories in Havana. He has conducted body percussion workshops at Lizt Alfonso Dance Company in Havana and McGill University in Montreal. He co-founded Oregano Percussion, which combines styles from Latin and Caribbean to Songwriting, Pop, and percussion chamber music. Céspedes is an artist/endorser of Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, and Humes & Berg. www.oreganopercussion.com