Donald Vega

Donald Vega was trained classically in piano in his native Nicaragua. He emigrated to the United States at age 14 and found a musical home with the Colburn School of Performing Arts. He began his studies there in classical piano with Teresa de Jong Pombo and Dr. Louis Lepley. Vega began learning the language of jazz from mentor Billy Higgins at The World Stage and continued at CSPA with Jeffrey Lavner, then later with bassist John Clayton and Shelly Berg at the University of Southern California. He went on to graduate from Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School where he studied with piano great Kenny Barron. Vega currently performs internationally with world renowned bassist Ron Carter’s Trio, with whom he has recorded several albums. Mr. Vega is also a professor at The Juilliard School and Hofstra University and sits on the board of BackCountry Jazz, a non-profit organization providing music education programs to underprivileged youth. Vega has recorded 3 albums to date: Tomorrows (Imagery Records), Spiritual Nature (Resonance Records), and With Respect to Monty (Resonance Records). His next album will be released later this year: As I Travel (Imagery Records) featuring Lewis Nash, John Patitucci and Luisito Quintero.