JUAN POSSO
Drummer · Composer · Educator
Juan Posso is an Ecuadorian drummer, composer, and educator based in Miami, Florida. His work brings together jazz performance, improvisation, composition, rhythmic research, and music technology, shaped by a musical background that spans jazz, Latin American music, rock, classical percussion, and cross-cultural rhythmic traditions.
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance with a Production concentration from Berklee College of Music Valencia. His doctoral research explores the structural integration of South Indian Carnatic rhythmic concepts into contemporary jazz composition and improvisation, with particular emphasis on their creative and pedagogical applications.
As an educator, Posso has taught at the university level in areas including drum set and percussion, improvisation, harmony, arranging, ensembles, music production, and contemporary performance. He has served as a tenure-track faculty member at Universidad de las Artes in Ecuador and has also taught music production at Universidad Espíritu Santo. In Miami, his educational work has included teaching and mentoring through the South Florida Center for Percussive Arts, University of Miami Shalala MusicReach, and Miami Arts Studio.
As a performer and composer, Posso has developed projects throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. His recent work includes a 2025 collaborative tour in China with pianist Taibai Moe and bassist Tianyu Zhang, as well as performances with artists and ensembles including Perico Sambeat, New York Voices, Raíces Jazz Orchestra, Víctor Mendoza, Jorge Pardo, and Sarazino.
His recordings as a leader include Resiliencia, Ciclos, and Despertar, the latter featuring Spanish saxophonist Perico Sambeat. His music combines contemporary jazz language with rhythmic structures, improvisation, and influences drawn from Latin American and global musical traditions.
Posso continues to develop projects connecting performance, composition, technology, research, and education. His current interests include jazz and contemporary improvisation, cross-cultural rhythmic systems, drum set and percussion pedagogy, music production, and the creative possibilities of acoustic and electronic percussion.
He is an artist for Canopus Drums, Bosphorus Cymbals, and Vater Percussion.
