Antonio Soltero

Antonio Soltero is a versatile guitarist, composer, and arranger that calls upon his cultural upbringing and many influences to form a unique voice that blends contemporary jazz with various styles of Latin, blues, and pop music. Born of Puerto Rican descent and raised in Austin, Texas, Antonio has been been brought up by a rich and unique sonic soundscape that spans and connects many different styles of music and allows him to seamlessly fit into a number of genres.

Starting out on violin at a young age, Antonio eventually switched to learning the guitar which quickly became his passion. Throughout his High School years he studied with Austin guitarist Glenn Rexach and studied with John Storie, Keith Brown, and Steve Owen at the University of Oregon. 

Antonio has studied and performed a wide variety of styles ranging from jazz, indie rock, funk, bluegrass, salsa, and Mexican Folkloric music. In his time at the University of Oregon, Antonio performed alongside artists such as Dezron Douglas, Helen Sung, Braxton Cook, Remy Le Boeuf, Mike Rodriguez, Melissa Aldana, George Colligan, and Stefon Harris. In April of 2024, Antonio’s big band arrangement of Pariah was performed by Braxton Cook for his Artist Residency at the University of Oregon. He also performed as member of the Jazz Aspen Afro-Caribbean Big Band led by Etienne Charles. While a member of both the Oregon Jazz Ensemble (OJE) and the JazzArts Oregon Combo, he received a Student Downbeat Award for Outstanding Graduate Small Jazz Ensemble (2026) and was a member of OJE when the group received the Outstanding Graduate Large Ensemble Performance award (2025).

Antonio recently received a Graduate Degree in Jazz Studies (Composition/Arranging) from the University of Oregon, where he also worked as a Graduate Employee (GE). He is currently based in Colorado where he regularly performs as both a sideman and band leader.

As an educator, I believe that a student is best prepared to learn by having a solid foundation of both their instrument and the musical style that they wish to learn. Once this foundation of both technical and musical understanding (time, chords, etc.) is established, I believe in a highly individualized approach that ensures that the student can obtain their unique musical goals. Once a student’s goals have been expressed, I believe in setting up a plan that is flexible and features enough variety to keep things engaging while still being clear enough for the student to be able to track their progress. Since every student has their own reason for choosing to learn music, I believe that lesson plans should cater to fulfilling the individual’s goals and interests while still establishing good practice habits and fundamentals. My main goal as an educator is to ensure my students walk away with their questions answered and the skills to further develop their own musical interests.