Son of an Italian jazz musician, Stephen Guerra (b.1983) started teaching himself Spanish classical and flamenco guitar in his early twenties as an amateur interest. His life would change forever once he heard a solo guitar recording of Baden Powell’s “Berimbau.” He went on to get a formal education, studying classical guitar with Allen Krantz and composition with Richard Brodhead and Jan Krzywicki in Philadelphia. He spent years in Rio de Janeiro studying choro, samba, and Brazilian guitar with Rogério Souza and Ronaldo do Bandolim and earned his doctorate in music from Yale University.

Today, Stephen performs and teaches choro around the US and Brazil and has played with the likes of Rogério Souza, Ronaldo do Bandolim, Sungmin Shin, Tiago Souza, Eduardo Belo, Ami Molinelli, and Edinho Gerber. Stephen regularly appears at universities, festivals, cultural centers, and music clubs. His work has been supported by numerous competitive artist grants and composer residencies. He’s published three full length albums and sheet music with Mel Bay, Guitar Chamber Music Press, and Bergmann Editions. He teaches music theory and the choro ensemble at the University at Buffalo and lives between NY and Rio de Janeiro.