Instrument: Upright Bass
Bassist, composer/arranger, and tenor Paul Cuevas began musical training at age four under his grandfather. Continuing this training through high school and his graduation from the Visual & Performing Arts Magnet program at Dr. Phillips High School, Cuevas attended Stetson University, where he studied bass under John Wieland and composition under Manuel DeMurga.
Cuevas has composed a vast number of pieces for orchestral, choral, and chamber settings, which have been performed throughout the Orlando and Central Florida area. His works include a Requiem Mass (2008) for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra, concerti for Violin and Contrabass (2006, 2008), a String Quartet (2007), Pas De Une for Unaccompanied Flute (2014) and numerous art songs and small choral pieces (2008-2015). Currently, Cuevas is composing a number of arrangements for various ensembles, in addition to art songs and chamber works.
As a performer, Cuevas has played in the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra (FSYO) and the Stetson Symphony Orchestra along with renowned artists and composers including Marvin Hamlisch, Sydney Hodkinson, Fernando Varela, and American Idol contestant Pia Toscana, plus many more. Pieces include Dvorak Symphonies 8 and 9, Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday and Hoe Down” from Rodeo, Puccini’s La Bohème, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicci, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy Overture, and musicals including Ragtime, Singin’ in the Rain, and In the Heights.
Presently, Cuevas is principal bassist and lead arranger for Violectric and Fretless Rock, and is an educator with Violectric Education Programs. Through his position with Violectric, he has become an MTV artist and one of the first Artists-in-Residence for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.