Fernando García is a drummer, percussionist, and composer well versed in a wide variety of musical styles. Born in San Juan and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, García started in music at a young age, and by 16 he was already playing gigs in Puerto Rico’s reggae scene. He also performed, as a student, at the Tito Puente Amphitheater on various occasions for the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest. These early experiences inspired him to study music further at the Inter American
University of Puerto Rico. During his time there, he had the opportunity to take lessons with Héctor Matos, who would go on to become a life long mentor and friend. Fernando was awarded the Juan Luis Guerra scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music’s graduate campus in Valencia, Spain. Berklee Valencia gave Fernando the opportunity to study with great artists such as Victor Mendoza, Mariano Steimberg and Alain Pérez, and Yoel Páez, among others. This proved to be a time of great focus and personal development in performance and composition. He then moved to New York City where he established himself as a drummer, percussionist, composer and educator. Along his career, he has had the opportunity to play as a sideman with many great artists such as Abraham Laboriel, Perico Sambeat, Ricardo Pons, Pepe Rivero, Alain Párez, Guillermo Klein, Julio Montalvo, John Benitez, and Ximo Tébar, among others. As a bandleader he has two albums out: Desde Arriba (Fernando García Music 2012) and Subidor (Fernando García Music 2013) in where he mostly explores the folkloric and very rhythmic bomba music of his native Puerto Rico and succeeds in fusing it with the harmonic and improvisational aspects of jazz.
With Poetic Theater Productions:
Percussionist in La Paloma Prisoner in Poetic License 2016