Mario Salvador

Mario Salvador (b. 1999, Cuba) is a visionary Tres Cubano player and composer redefining the instrument’s expressive possibilities. Classically trained in Cuba under maestro Efraín Amador for 10 years, he released his debut album Ciudad Fantasía with EGREM at age 20 and has since produced recording works including Masintin (577 Records, NY, 2023), Le Mat (2023), Nuevo Trío (2024), and Nuevo Montuno – Live (2025), the latter mentioned at the Gunther Schuller Centennial Composition Contest at NEC. His music blends jazz, improvisation, Cuban heritage, magic, and contemporary new music, marked by polystilism, nonlinear narratives and inventive rhythmic structures. At 23, he became the first Tres player ever to receive a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music. His move to the United States was made possible thanks to mobility support from the Fondo de Arte Joven, which awarded him an Academic Scholarship to facilitate the transition. Currently double majoring in Composition and Film Scoring at Berklee, he is the recipient of the 2025 Berkle Composition Department Amy Beach Spring Award and recently won the Best Original Score Award at the FSN Film Festival. Recent works include Homo Ludens for Tres and electronics—performed by him at New York’s Power Station—and Puentes Entre Mundos for string quartet, performed by the Rhythm Method String Quartet during their Berklee Residency concert 2025. He is currently developing a new composition to be premiered by the contemporary ensemble HyperCube in 2026.
IG: @mario_salvadortres