Carlos Molina

Carlos Molina (born 1946 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban guitarist and professor.

Academic background Carlos Molina is an acclaimed Cuban guitarist, lauded as founder of the Cuban Guitar School. He studied music at Hubert de Blanck Conservatory and the Amadeo Roldán National Conservatory in Havana, Cuba. He was a disciple of Isaac Nicola and graduated in 1969, from both the National Conservatory and from the Law School at the Havana University. At a later time, Molina continued his professional training as a classical guitarist with Abel Carlevaro, Alirio Díaz, and Alberto Ponce.

Work as guitarist In 1970, closely following his graduation, Carlos Molina won the First Prize at the National Guitar Competition

Molina has frequently shared the stage with famous guitarists such as Leo Brouwer, Turibio Santos, Alirio Díaz, Benjamin Verdery, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and Nikita Koshkin. He has also participated in international guitar festivals at Pescara, Potenza, Brno, Rust, Córdoba, Hondarribia, Vélez-Málaga, Aranda del Duero, Linares, Coria, Bordeaux, Limousin, Vendôme, Esztergom, Rotenburg, Bratislava, Stockholm and Fribourg. A list of composers that have dedicated pieces to Molina include the Russian Nikita Koshkin (guitar duo Return of the Winds – 2002) as well as Olivier Chassain, Gérard Drozd, Roberto Fabbri, Jon Christopher Nelson, Orlando Jacinto García, Carlos Rafael Rivera, Timothy Melbinger, Antonino Hernández Lisazo, Armando Rodriguez Ruidiaz, Carlos Atilano, and Luis Manuel Molina (Molina's brother), with his Capricho Místico para una Guitarra Solitaria. an organization dedicated to promote the art and appreciation of the Classical Guitar within the Miami community and South Florida, and produced a series of thirty seven radio programs titled Tertulia Musical for Radio y Televisión Martí, in which he presented different aspects of Cuban music.

Molina has offered master classes and summer courses in the University of Veracruz (Mexico), Hondarribia, Bisceglie, Bordeaux, Brno, Périgueux, and other locations in Europe. He has also been on the faculty of the National Guitar Summer Workshop in Connecticut. He has participated as a juror for many international guitar competitions, including seven times at the Guitar Foundation of America, in Oberlin University, Mérida, La Jolla, Houston, Québec and San Antonio, Coria in Spain, Bari in Italy, UTD in Dallas, Rust in Austria, Fiuggi in Italy, Vélez in Málaga, and the island of Sardinia in Italy.

Carlos Molina has been mentioned in reputable books and publications such as Cuban Music from A to Z by Helio Orovio (Duke University, 2004); Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana, (Madrid, Sociedad General de Autores, 2000); Leo Brouwer by Isabelle Hernandez (Bogota Colombia, 2000); Antonio Lauro by Alejandro Bruzual (Caracas, 2000); Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, Musica by Cristobal Diaz Alaya (Madrid 1999/2000); Diccionario de la Música Cubana by Helio Orovio (Colombia, 1993); Música Cubana, by Cristobal Diaz Ayala (Puerto Rico 1981); and Gitarren-Lexikon, by Józef Powroźniak (Poland and Germany 1979). In 1996, the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County declared 31 May as the Day of Maestro Carlos Molina.