Ricardo Paz

Born in Mexico City, Dr. Ricardo Paz has extensively performed throughout Mexico and the United States, including notable venues such as Weber State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Utah State University, and the Springville Museum of Art in Utah, among others. Dr. Paz has been featured on National Public Radio in the United States. Moreover, he has served as an adjudicator for the esteemed Guitar Foundation of America symposiums in both Phoenix and Las Vegas within the college categories.

In addition to his performing career, Dr. Paz served as the Guitar Program Director at Phoenix Elementary School District #1 and was the founder of the Herrera Panther Guitar Ensemble. In 2015, he developed and hosted the inaugural Phoenix District Guitar Festival, which showcased performances by students from elementary to graduate school levels for the community. Dr. Paz commenced his guitar studies at a young age in his homeland of Mexico, under the tutelage of Luis Robert and the renowned Argentine concert guitarist Manuel López Ramos. He pursued his studies at the National School of Music of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree under the mentorship of Juan Carlos Laguna. Furthermore, he holds both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance from Arizona State University, where he studied with the internationally acclaimed guitar professor Frank Koonce.

In 2018, Dr. Paz founded the classical guitar program at Aspen Community School and Capital High School within Santa Fe Public Schools. These programs provided a comprehensive and authentic guitar education at the middle and high school levels, preparing students with the necessary skills to pursue advanced guitar studies at the collegiate stage. Dr. Paz has received numerous grants and awards, including the esteemed Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts on three occasions, the Special Musical Talent Award from Arizona State University, and the Manolito Pinazo Memorial Award to support research in Iberian and Latin American music.

In 2023, Dr. Paz launched the classical guitar program at Riverside Arts Academy. He is the host of the concert music radio show, “Sounds from the Deep: A Mosaic of Latin American concert music” at KUCR.

Dr. Paz is a Ph.D. student in musicology at the University of California, Riverside. Ricardo’s research concentrates on exoticism, cosmopolitanism, orientalism, modernismo, hybridity, and colonialism studies in Mexico, particularly Mexican concert music in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. His work has been presented at lectures and conferences such as the 9th Biennial New Perspectives in Flamenco History Symposium at the University of New Mexico, and the Florence Bayz Music Series at UCR.