Rodrigo Villanueva

Percussion Faculty Performer | Janesville, WI

Rodrigo Villanueva is a Professor of Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University (NIU). He teaches jazz drumset, jazz arranging, and directs the NIU Jazz Ensemble. Villanueva has presented master classes at many higher learning institutions and performed concerts at jazz venues and festivals across the United States, as well as in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and South Korea. He has played and recorded with many leading jazz and classical artists including Jangeun Bae, Craig Butterfield, Frank Caruso, Eddie Gomez, Fareed Haque, Stefan Karlsson, Alex Mercado, Hiro Morozumi, Jon Nelson, Ed Saindon, Rodolfo Sanchez, Ben Sidran, Anders Svanoe, Liam Teague, and Takayoshi Yoshioka. Villanueva performs frequently with the Eddie Gomez Trio, the Alex Mercado Trio, the NIU jazz faculty group, Nucleus, and the Anders Svanoe Trio, as well as his own jazz trio. He has been featured at the Jazz Education Network, the Percussive Arts Society International Conference, and the Midwest Clinic. He was recently awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholar for research and teaching in Brazil, 2020-2023.