Alberto Jara
Baroque bass / Violone
Born in Cartago, Costa Rica, Alberto began his studies in double bass at the Municipal School of Music in Cartago and later at the University of Costa Rica. Subsequently, he moved to the United States to pursue a master's degree in double bass performance at the Pennsylvania State University. His main teachers include Juan José Gamboa, Robert Nairn, Andrew Ackerman and Joseph Carver. In addition, he has received advice from Thierry Barbé, Jeff Bradetich, Axel Bouchaux, Micah Howard, Robert Black and Orin O’Brien, among others.
Developing a growing interest in early music and historical interpretation, he enrolls in graduate courses at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) in Barcelona and at the Abbaye aux Dames in Saintes, France. In addition to this, he has taken part of academies and formative groups such as the Jeune Orchester de l’Abbaye, I Giovane dell’Academia Montis Regalis and Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroque.
Before moving to Barcelona, he was a member of different symphonic groups in Costa Rica, as well as in Central Pennsylvania, serving as principal in many of them. As a teacher, he taught at the Municipal Music Schools of Cartago and Paraíso from 2007 to 2014. Between 2014 and 2016, he worked as an assistant professor at Penn State University.
Since his arrival in Europe, he has collaborated with groups such as the Orchestre des Champs- Élysées, Spira Mirabilis, Academia Montis Regalis, Orquesta Barroca Catalana, among others. He has also worked with artists such as Philippe Herrewegue, William Christie, Mark Minkowski, Hervé Niquet, Alessandro di Marchi, Enrico Onofri, among others.
In 2011 he founded Ensamble 1910, a Costa Rican group dedicated to historical interpretation, of which he served as artistic director until 2016. He is currently a founding member of the group The Ministers of Pastime.