Samuel Torres
3 Courses • 5922 StudentsBiography
Samuel Torres is a Latin Grammy Award-winning percussionist and composer whose work seamlessly bridges the worlds of Afro-Latin rhythm, Latin jazz, and contemporary classical music. Hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, and now based in Brooklyn, NY, Torres has established himself as a bold, genre-defying artist praised by JazzTimes for music that is "intelligent, sophisticated, and explosive."
A graduate of Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned his Master’s in Classical Composition and received the Nicolas Flagello Award, Torres is celebrated for his virtuosic technique, compositional brilliance, and innovative spirit. He is the recipient of multiple honors, including three New Jazz Works Grants from Chamber Music America and 2nd place in the 2000 Thelonious Monk Jazz Hand Percussion Competition.
In 2019, Samuel earned a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album for Regreso, his groundbreaking concerto for congas and symphony orchestra. His deep and varied discography reflects collaborations with musical luminaries across jazz, Latin pop, and classical genres, including Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Arturo Sandoval, Lila Downs, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Angelique Kidjo, and orchestras like the Berlin Symphoniker, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and City of London Sinfonia.
Samuel is also a dedicated educator and cultural ambassador. He has served as a guest teaching artist at world-renowned institutions including Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The New School, Beijing Conservatory, Rotterdam Conservatory, and Berlin Jazz School, and currently teaches percussion to students in grades K-8 at Avenues: The World School in New York City.
Since 2022, he has been on faculty at The Collective Global Vision, where he shares his expertise in percussion, composition, and cross-genre musical integration. Samuel Torres continues to inspire the next generation of musicians with a global approach that blends technical mastery, cultural authenticity, and artistic innovation.
