Camilo Andrés Ayala, euphonium
Soloist, teacher and composer
Born in Bogotá (Colombia), Camilo began his musical studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in 2010 under Rafael Pérez and is currently pursuing his master’s studies under Dr. Adam Frey.
As a soloist he has won several competitions to play as a soloist with different ensembles: Symphony Band of the Javeriana University (2013), Symphony Orchestra of the Javeriana University (2014 and 2016), Bogotá Youth Philharmonic Band (2019).
In 2018, he was awarded the “Earle L. Louder Fellowship” to attend the International Euphonium and Tubas Festival (IET) in Atlanta, United States, where he received classes with teachers Adam Frey, Brian Bowman, Tormod Flaten, Thomas Rüedi, David Thornton, Aaron Tindall, Øystein Baadsvik, among others. He has also participated in national festivals taking classes with teachers Steven Mead, Bastien Baumet and Jason Ham.
In 2022 Camilo participated as a guest artist with the ensemble “Dueto Icatama”, performing a concert focusing on Colombian traditional music at the University of North Georgia, United States of America.
As a teacher he has worked as a euphonium and tuba teacher at the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, and has also collaborated as a euphonium, trombone and tuba teacher in the training processes of the music schools of Tunja and the Government of Boyacá.
As a composer Camilo has published two works for euphonium and piano: Bernarda and Alborada Taciturna. Additionally, he participated in the edition of the “Guide for euphonium of the Colombian Ministry of Culture”, providing unpublished material for training in the instrument.
Watch Camilo Andrés Ayala Merchán perform Fantasia di Concerto by Eduardo Boccalari on the euphonium for the 2024 Autumn Music Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.