Biographical Info

EDDIE VENEGAS is a New York-based, Venezuelan violinist, trombonist, and composer. He performs regularly with a variety of Latin, Jazz, Classical, and Popular music ensembles. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Eddie first began violin as a child. He moved to New York City to study with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet at The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where he obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Performance of Classical Violin. He is a self-taught trombonist.

SWEET PLANTAIN: Eddie is a founding member of Sweet Plantain Quartet, his primary project. The quartet’s diverse, genre-blurring repertoire features his original compositions and arrangements. Sweet Plantain has toured in concert internationally, recorded for film, and held teaching residencies throughout the United States.

LATIN MUSIC: Eddie is a regular, touring member of Grammy Award-winning salsa singer Marc Anthony’s band, doubling on trombone and as violin soloist. He is also a member of Los Hacheros and the legendary charanga band Orquesta Broadway. He has performed with Pedrito Martinez at Central Park’s Summer Stage and with reggaeton star Don Omar at Madison Square Garden.

JAZZ: Eddie has played with The Hudson Jazz Ensemble, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Jon Faddis, Joe Zawinul, and Victor Jones, among other greats, including shows at NYC’s famed Birdland and Blue Note jazz clubs.

CLASSICAL: Eddie has performed alongside world famous opera star Susan Graham, as well as with The Harrisburg Symphony, The Queens Philharmonic, The Sphinx Symphony, Saint Martins of Tours Symphony Orchestra, and The Carpentier String Quartet.

TEACHER: Eddie formerly directed a strings music program for the St. Ignatius middle school in The Bronx and has taught private students. For five years he mentored teenage musicians from NYC public schools through a partnership with Tony Bennett’s nonprofit Exploring the Arts.

FILM: In his free time, Eddie pursues film projects with his wife and collaborator, Karin Venegas. Their documentary Unafraid: Voices from the Crime Victims Treatment Center, which features Eddie’s original music and cinematography, has screened in numerous film festivals throughout the U.S.