Yalil Guerra Soto (born April 27, 1973, Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban born composer with Spanish citizenship (from 1999) and United States citizenship (from 2007), classical guitarist, producer, arranger, professor, multi-instrumentalist, and conductor, based in the city of Los Angeles, California. He is the son of the Cuban vocal duo Rosell y Cary.[1]
Guerra has written music for symphonic orchestra, string orchestra, concertos, chamber music, vocal music, and for solo instruments. For over 15 years worked as a composer, arranger, and producer for the US TV network Univision, some of these projects included the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Latin GRAMMY Awards (2005-2011), Sábado Gigante, Premio lo nuestro, Mira quién baila, among others. On November 15, 2012, Guerra won the Latin Grammy in the Best Classical Contemporary Composition for his work "Seducción" from his album “Live in L.A.”[1]
In 2010, Guerra was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Best Classical Album category for his album "Old Havana."[2]
The album titled "Cuba: The Legacy" was nominated in 2019 for a Latin Grammy in the Best Classical Album category.[3]
Guerra graduated from the National School of Music (E.N.A.) in Havana, Cuba with a Bachelor in Music degree in 1991. Studied for two years at the Instituto Superior de Artes, La Habana, Cuba [1]. He obtained a Master's degree from the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, Spain in 1997 and from Shepherd University in Los Angeles in 2016. He graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Music from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021.[2]
