A founding member of the original “Encore Music Academy” back in 2010, Cuban flute soloist and instructor Fabián Álvarez remains as one of the most active members of the Encore family. An admirable attribute of Mr. Álvarez throughout his life has been his commitment to study and to pursue academic excellence. His outstanding awards and prizes speak by themselves.
At the “Encore Academy of the Arts,” Fabián currently teaches flute, saxophone, and Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI.) He is a passionate educator capable of effectively teaching students of all levels.
Mr. Álvarez received his elementary and intermediate training in flute performance at the conservatories “Guillermo Tomás” and “Amadeo Roldán” in Havana, where he studied with prestigious scholars Germán Fraga, Ana Arias, Halina Kusiak, and Daniel Peñalver, among others. During this period of intense studies Mr. Álvarez was awarded the 1st Prize in the “Amadeo Roldán National Music Competition,” and he soon began performing with student chamber ensembles as well as with the Havana Youth Symphony. In 1998 he graduated with honors from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, and a year later he earned a full scholarship to study with distinguished flutist and professor Salvador Torre at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City.
In 2002 he settled in Miami, Florida, where he continued an active performing schedule while attending school. In 2004 he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance as a pupil of Liliam Santiago at the “New World School of the Arts” in association with the University of Florida.
In 2004 Mr. Alvarez won the First Prize in the “New World School of the Arts Concerto Competition” for his performance of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, accompanied by the NWSA Symphony Orchestra. The next year he won the First Prize in the “Florida Flute Fair Competition” in Daytona Beach Fl, USA. In 2011 Mr. Alvarez earned his Master´s degree in Flute Performance under the tutelage of Mrs. Renee Siebert at the Lynn University.
Most Recently, Mr. Alvarez was awarded a grant by the “Friends of Flutes Foundation” to finance his participation in the Orford Music Festival in Canada. There he took lessons with professors Mathieu Dufour -current principal flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,- and Dennis Bluteau -assistant principal flute of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In the Summer of 2016 he also took classes with prominent European flute artists Alena Lugovkina and Giedrius Gelgotas at the William Bennett Flute Festival in London, England.