EDDIE VENEGAS is a New York-based, Venezuelan violinist, trombonist, and composer. He performs regularly with a variety of Latin, jazz, classical, and popular music ensembles, as well as in the pit on various Broadway shows. He is currently teaching in residence at New Jersey City University.

EDUCATION: Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Eddie first began violin as a child. He moved to New York City to study with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet at The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where he obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Performance of Classical Violin. He is a self-taught trombonist.

SWEET PLANTAIN STRING QUARTET: Eddie is a founding member of Sweet Plantain Quartet, whose Latin American repertoire features his original compositions and arrangements, including music by composers like Astor Piazzolla, Mongo Santamaría, and Paquito D’Rivera. Sweet Plantain has performed on tours of Russia, Sweden, the Mediterranean, and throughout the United States. The group is currently on faculty as the quartet-in-residence at New Jersey City University.

LATIN MUSIC: Eddie toured for many years with Grammy Award-winning, salsa singer Marc Anthony, doubling on trombone and as violin soloist. He is a founding member of  Los Hacheros and proud member of the legendary charanga ban, Orquesta Broadway. His extensive background in Latin music has included performances with Pedrito Martinez at Central Park's Summer Stage, with reggaeton star Don Omar at Madison Square Garden, and national tours with Sonia de Los Santos, performing Latin American family music for young audiences.

BROADWAY: In recent years, Eddie held a regular chair in the band’s violin section for Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations (2019-2022) and theatre “pit” orchestras, including Miss Saigon (2017), Carousel (2018), My Fair Lady (2018), and .

JAZZ: Eddie has played with The Hudson Jazz Ensemble, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Jon Faddis, Joe Zawinul, Victor Jones, and at NYC's famed Birdland, Blue Note, and Dizzy’s Club.

CLASSICAL: Eddie has performed through the years with The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, The Queens Philharmonic, The Sphinx Symphony, Saint Martins of Tours Symphony Orchestra, and with Carpentier String Quartet.

TEACHER: Eddie formerly directed a strings music program for St. Ignatius middle school in The Bronx and currently instructs private students at all levels. For five years he mentored teenage musicians from NYC public schools through a partnership with Tony Bennett's nonprofit organization, Exploring the Arts.

FILM: In his free time, Eddie pursues film projects with his wife and collaborator, Karin Venegas. Their documentary Unafraid: Voices from the Crime Victims Treatment Center, featuring Eddie's original music, screened in numerous film festivals throughout the U.S. and is now distributed by Women Make Movies.