Luis Enrique Vargas
Lecturer in Music, Viola
Luis Enrique Vargas, violist, is a native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He began viola lessons at age 14, studying at the Vicente Emilio Sogo and the Simon Bolivar Conservatories of Music in Venezuela. Throughout his career, Mr. Vargas has studied with many internationally known musicians. Among them are Jose Manuel Roman, Richard Young, Gerard Causee, Li-Kuo Chang, James Dunham, Michael Tree, Earl Carlyss, and the Vermeer and Emerson string quartets.
In his native land, he was an active performer and educator and collaborated with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. He was a member of the Venezuelan Lara State and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestras. He toured to Brazil, Spain, and France, performing at the Festival de la Radio France et Montpellier in 1993. With the Simon Bolivar Orchestra he performed in Paris in 1995 at the UNESCO and at the Sorbonne University, and in Madrid at the Bela Bartok Concert Series. Also with them he recorded “Latin-American Lollipops,” a compilation of Latin-American masterpieces on the Dorian label. Mr. Vargas has participated in several international chamber music festivals, including Aspen, Norfolk, and Great Lakes, and has performed as a chamber musician throughout the US, South America, Canada, and Europe.
Mr. Vargas was the violist of the Cuarteto America (string quartet) from 1997 through 1999, during which time he pursued a Diploma in Chamber Music at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada) and a Masters degree from Miami University of Ohio. He has been violist of the Euclid Quartet since September 2001.
