Hailed as playing with    "...marvelous virtuosity..." by

The Alturas Duo has been recognized as one of the most entertaining ensembles performing in the chamber music world today. The only group of its kind, the Duo formed with the idea of playing South American and classical music by bringing together the unusual combination of the viola, charango and guitar creating fiery programs that move at ease between Johann Sebastian Bach, South American folk rhythms and new music commissioned by the duo.

Constantly in search of new music and diverse collaborations, they have performed with flutist Gonzalo Cortes, charango virtuoso Ernesto Cavour, Chilean guitarist and composer Horacio Salinas, the New World Trio, cellists Jason Duckles and Jennifer Combs, violinists Katalin Viszmeg and Anthea Kreston, pianist Polly Ferman and Argentine bandoneón legend, Daniel Binelli. They have worked with many composers and have commissioned over fifteen works by Thomas Schuttenhelm, Jaime Romero, Dan Román, Garry Antonio, Alberto Cumplido, Javier Farias, Horacio Salinas, José Lezcano, James Argiro and recently premiered "No mas muertes" (No More Deaths) by David Macbride.

The Duo has performed and lectured across the United States, Canada, Chile and Bolivia including performances at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, the Music Mountain Chamber Music Series, the Smithsonian Institute, The First Annual Latin American Art Week in New York, the Chilean and Venezuelan embassies in Washington D.C., The Museum of Bolivian Folkloric Instruments in La Paz, the "Entre Cuerdas" guitar festival in Chile, the 34th International Viola Congress, the Québec City and Connecticut Classical Guitar Societies and have performed with the Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C., the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, and the Hartford Festival Orchestra. They are First Prize winners of the 2006 New England International Chamber Music Competition and have held residencies at the Lyrica String Festival and the Hartt School of Music. They have recorded for BRIOSO and NAXOS records and have been featured performers on NPR, Radio Nuevo Mundo and Beethoven Radio in Chile. They are the founders and artistic directors of the Simsbury Chamber Music Festival and are members of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and Tourism's "Directory of Performing Artists Roster".

The 2007-08 season will see the Duo maintaining a busy schedule of concerts, master classes and lectures. Among them will be performances with the Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C., the Voce and Crescendo Choirs, the New World Trio, with the Venezuelan soprano Adriana Balzán and the Peruvian baritone Jose Sacín and with bandoneón legend Daniel Binelli and pianist Polly Ferman. The Duo was recently honored with the "Hispanic Excellence in Music" award for 2006 "7th Annual Awards and National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration". Most recently, their collaboration with the Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C "Celebrating Sacred Rhythms" earned them a "Wammie" from the Washington D.C. Area Music Awards for "Best Classical Recording" of 2006.

The name Alturas (Spanish for Heights) is derived from the poem "Alturas de Macchu Picchu" by the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).

Carlos Boltes, born to Catalan immigrants in Santiago, Chile, began his first studies in music by learning the charango at an early age with his brother Giovanni Vacani. As a member of the Chilean group Barrocco Andino, he mastered the charango and the mandolin, while touring extensively throughout South America. He has held the position of principal violist with the Orquesta de Cámara del Teatro Municipal de Santiago the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and has recorded for MODE and CBS Records. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in viola performance from the Pontificia Universidad de Chile, and a Master's Degree in performance from Carnegie Mellon University. His main teachers have been Enrique López, Atar Arad, Larry Dutton (Emerson String Quartet) and Steve Larson (Adaskin String Trio). Mr. Boltes has been recipient of the Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship and The Andes Foundation Performance Grant. Currently, he is on the faculty at the Hartt School Community Division of the University of Hartford, Connecticut.

Scott Hill, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada, earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Lakehead University with Sean Mundy and a Masters degree in guitar performance and a Graduate Professional Diploma in chamber performance from the Hartt School of Music where he studied with Richard Provost. Mr. Hill has performed and lectured throughout Canada, the United States and South America as both a soloist and chamber musician and has collaborated with many diverse instrumentalists including the flutist Mytrle Thomas, and the Adaskin String Trio. Mr. Hill is a Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient and has performed in master classes for some of todays finest musicians including Oscar Ghiglia, John Willams, and the Miami String Quartet. Currently, Mr. Hill is on the faculty at the Hartt School Community Division of the University of Hartford, West Hartford Connecticut.