Dayramir González
Born and raised in Havana, Dayramir González grew up surrounded by music. His father, the celebrated Afro-Cuban jazz trumpeter Fabian González, filled their home with the rhythms and harmonies of Cuba's musical heart. At just sixteen, González took his first professional steps as pianist and composer with former Irakere member Oscar Valdés' Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Diákara. His original composition won first place at Havana's 2005 JoJazz Festival, earning him a record deal with Cuba's national label Colibrí. His debut album Habana enTRANCé went on to win three Cubadisco Awards, Cuba's equivalent of the GRAMMYs. While studying classical composition and orchestration at Havana's prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), piano master Chucho Valdés personally mentored him as he prepared for the Berklee College of Music scholarship auditions — where González earned the first-ever Presidential Scholarship awarded to a Cuban national.