Department of Fine and Performing Arts

Professor of Music and Guitar
FPA 216A
956.326.3046
gsoto@tamiu.edu

Courses: Guitar, Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Methods, Elementary Music, Music and Children

Gilberto D. Soto began to play the guitar at the age of twelve. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Universidad Autónoma del Noreste, Dr. Soto came to Texas to study music at Abilene Christian University. He graduated with honors (Cum Laude) from ACU in 1986 and received a second Bachelor’s Degree in Music. Dr. Soto then was awarded a full fellowship from the University of Southern Mississippi in order to continue his graduate studies in Music, where he received his Master’s Degree in Music Performance in 1988 and his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Music Education in 1995. Dr. Soto has studied classical guitar under Dan Mitchell, Charles Postlewate, and Giovanni De Chiaro. Ha has also taken master classes with Max Maxwell, Vladimir Mikulka, Javier Calderon, and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. Dr. Soto began to teach music classes at the age of nineteen and directed music ensembles in both traditional and classical music. Some of the institutions where he has taught include Monterrey Tech, Universidad Autónoma del Noreste, University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Hinds Community College, Vidal M. Treviño Magnet School, and Laredo Community College, where he was the Department Chairperson from 1998-2001.

Dr. Soto is a member of the Guitar Foundation of America, the South Texas Classical Guitar Society, and the Texas Council for the Arts, and the Texas Music Education Association. He is also part of the subcommittee on Higher Education for the Texas Association of Music School and is currently serving as a member on the board of trustees for the Laredo Center for the Arts and the Instituto Cultural México-Laredo.