
A Legacy of Her Own Classical guitarist Berta Rojas discusses a banner year of awards, honors, and the return of her irreplaceable stolen instrument.
By
Mark Small
May 30, 2023
Associate Professor Berta Rojas in the Berklee Performance Center.
Image by John Huet
Since completing her latest album in 2022, guitar professor Berta Rojas has experienced both career highs and uncertainty. Her album, Legado (meaning Legacy in Spanish), is a tribute to guitarists and composers Ida Presti (France, 1924-1967) and Maria Luisa Anido (Argentina, 1907-1996). The album's dozen tracks include works penned by or dedicated to Presti and Anido, both pathfinders for women in the classical guitar field.
Legado was a powerful way for me to share the story of women who-in spite of difficulties they confronted in their day-went ahead with what they felt called to do and had fantastic careers, says Rojas. I wondered why these and other women of the guitar were not more revered and wanted to start a conversation about them.
Rojas did indeed begin the conversation by making an album that ultimately netted two Latin Grammy Awards. (Notably, fellow Berklee professor Randy Roos served as the album's recording engineer.) Legado was named Best Classical Album for 2022 and Chacarera, a movement from the suite Anido's Portrait, which Rojas commissioned from Sergio Assad, won the award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
The guitar is my instrument and there is nothing I do with it that is not deeply felt.
- Berta Rojas
The Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in November was a triumph for Rojas, ending a year that earlier looked a bit bleak after her irreplaceable Michael O'Leary guitar, valued at around $20,000, was stolen from a car prior to her April 2022 concert in Cleveland, Ohio. The night before flying to Cleveland, Rojas had felt impressed to record the final track of Legado in her home studio despite fatigue after teaching all day. After the guitar was taken, Rojas felt at least some consolation knowing all tracks on the album featured the same instrument. But losing her constant musical companion of more than 14 years was devastating. Rojas had publicly stated that if she got the guitar back, no questions would be asked, and after two agonizing months it was unexpectedly and fortuitously returned to her.
The Latin Grammy was a boost both career-wise and personally for Rojas. Feeling embraced by the academy and my colleagues who have sold millions of records, and their embrace of this story about these women, was very rewarding for me, she says.
Image by John Huet
Becoming the first person from her native Paraguay to earn a Latin Grammy was cause for celebration there. On March 17, when she returned home, Paraguay's minister of Foreign Affairs bestowed upon her the Gran Cruz, a high honor recognizing those who have made significant contributions to Paraguay's cultural heritage. She will return later this year for a series of concerts.
Rojas feels her life has been blessed in multiple ways, including the dialectic she enjoys with her students and faculty peers. I am living in really happy and creative times at Berklee, she shares. Teaching here since 2017 has given me a chance to learn about jazz, and crossing the paths of classical and jazz has brought a lot to my music. The guitar is my instrument and there is nothing I do with it that is not deeply felt. All this has happened as a result of my sincere love for music.
Image by John Huet
Related Categories
Berklee Today
Most Popular
Image by Libby Danforth
Viral TikTok Song If I Were a Fish Is a Joyous Call for Acceptance Berklee alum Corrine Savage, who performs as corook, wrote the song with their partner as a way to cope with feeling unaccepted by society for being different.
Latest
Berklee students perform at the Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the Summer in the City Concert Series
Image by Kelly Davidson
Berklee's Summer in the City Series Brings Free Concerts to Boston Area The free series will feature Berklee students, faculty, and alumni performing at beloved venues throughout the city and beyond.
Image courtesy of Miguel Zen n
Miguel Zen n Named the 2023 Ken Pullig Visiting Scholar in Jazz Studies The Guggenheim and MacArthur fellow will give master classes, lead an ensemble, and work with jazz composition students.
Associate Professor Berta Rojas in the Berklee Performance Center.
Image by John Huet
A Legacy of Her Own Classical guitarist Berta Rojas discusses a banner year of awards, honors, and the return of her irreplaceable stolen instrument.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
01/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the pre...
01/05/2025
HONG KONG Riedel Communications today said it has opened a new office in Hong Kong, enhancing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region....
01/05/2025
MUMBAI, India & BALTIMORE In a development that could advance efforts to bring NextGen TV to cellphones, FreeStream Technologies, Lava International and HMD hav...
01/05/2025
01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives
All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...
01/05/2025
How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...
01/05/2025
Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton May 1, 2025
0 Comments
CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...
01/05/2025
RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who were senior leaders a...
01/05/2025
RT Statement
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project is one of the projects that was funded from the proceeds of RT 's land sale in 2017, the init...
01/05/2025
Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on
This May, RT is delighted to support Bealtaine Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, and Dublin Dance Fest...
01/05/2025
For Nicolas Simon, advancing the field of robotics is a personal mission that could change his siblings' lives.
Two-thirds of Simon's family members us...
30/04/2025
Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...
30/04/2025
EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...
30/04/2025
The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...
30/04/2025
Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...
30/04/2025
Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award
30 April, 2025
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...
30/04/2025
SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives
30 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...
30/04/2025
By Joyce JC Cataldo
The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...
30/04/2025
An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...
30/04/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...
30/04/2025
AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...
30/04/2025
The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...
30/04/2025
NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...
30/04/2025
Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson
Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...
30/04/2025
Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...
30/04/2025
ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...
30/04/2025
The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...
30/04/2025
Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...
30/04/2025
LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...
30/04/2025
Stand: A40
Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...
30/04/2025
Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...
30/04/2025
Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories
nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...
30/04/2025
Connecting the present, building the future
FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...
30/04/2025
DAD by NTP Technology reports a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas where the company focused on upcoming expansion options in development for its Thunder | Core a...
30/04/2025
CVP and Canon UK & Ireland are proud to announce the winning projects from the third annual Stories in Motion Young Filmmakers Awards, which took place on the e...
30/04/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that beIN MEDIA GROUP ( beIN'), one of the foremost global sports and entertainment broadcasters...
30/04/2025
The Canadian Premier League (CPL) today launched a new-look website and app, offering supporters of Canada's men's domestic professional soccer league a...
30/04/2025
WASHINGTON In a wide-ranging press conference, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had both good and bad news for broadcasters, stressing that ...
30/04/2025
TORONTO Cignal TV is relying on Quickplay's Shorts tool for its recently launched Pilipinas Live Shorts service, available to millions of users of Pilipinas...
30/04/2025
NEW YORK Steve Lanzano will retire as president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Advertising at year-end, the group said....
30/04/2025
The news production tech provider nxtedition is reporting that it supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, an independent news producer based...
30/04/2025
NEW YORK As part of a major push to advance the role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has...
30/04/2025
Uzbekistan Airways is the latest airline to choose SES's network, while Thai...
30/04/2025
Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams
Brie Clayton April 29, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Studio Cameras and Micro Studio Camer...
30/04/2025
Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA
Brie Clayton April 29, 2025
0 Comments
After a successful debut in 2024, MIDiA is calling once...
30/04/2025
Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee&...
30/04/2025
Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College ...
30/04/2025
You've seen the headlines, now it's time to go Behind the Story
RT News has today (Wednesday) launched a brand-new news podcast, Behind the Story, h...
30/04/2025
Damien Molony will head back to Jersey for a second series of Bergerac, written by Toby Whithouse alongside Ashley Sanders, Emilie Robson and Faebian Averies
D...
30/04/2025
Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations...