Pianist Alejandro Avila (he/him/his) was born in Asuncion, Paraguay. After completing his conservatory studies in Asuncion, he was awarded a full scholarship to pursue his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree at São Paulo State University, in Brazil, where he studied with renowned Brazilian professors Dr. Cláudio Richerme and Dr. André Rangel. After graduating with his BM, Alejandro got a full assistantship position at Central Michigan University, where he worked as an instructor of piano class, private lessons, and collaborative pianist. While at CMU Alejandro completed his MM in Piano Performance studying with Portuguese pianist Alexandra Mascolo-David.

Alejandro is a recipient of several prizes, grants, and music awards including first prize at Rosa Mistica competition in Curitiba, Brazil, first prize at Momento Musical competition in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 2012, as well as two Silver Medals at the KMTA Honors competition at the graduate level in Emporia, KS in 2018 and in Lawrence, KS in 2019. Alejandro is a recipient of the Koch Cultural Trust grant for his work at the Cortona Sessions for New Music, in Italy, as well as a Reach Out Kansas grant, for his collaborative work with The Meadowlark Project.

Alejandro received his DMA from the University of Kansas in 2020, after defending his dissertation Iguazú: A Collection of South American Piano Pieces. Currently, Alejandro works as a collaborative pianist and staff accompanist at the University of Kansas and Washburn University. He is also faculty of piano and theory at Language and Music House of Kansas City. Alejandro keeps an active and successful career as a recitalist, both in solo and collaborative settings.

Alejandro is a co-founder of The Meadowlark Project, a new music ensemble that brings Kansas-based art songs into new audiences and small communities in Kansas and Missouri. In his free time, Alejandro enjoys playing keyboard with his Brazilian band Balacobaco.