George Delgado, who is of Puerto Rican descent, was born in the Bronx, NY, on July 19, 1965. When he was six years old, George’s father began teaching him how to play congas and timbales. From that point onward, Delgado took over his own musical education and learned to play all forms of percussion.
At fourteen, Delgado began playing timbales with Tito Rojas’ El Conjunto Borincano. Since then, he has played with Santiago Ceron, Manny Oquendo’s Libre, Tony Vega, Tito Nieves, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Jimmy Bosh, Steve Torre, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Soneros del Barrio and many other accomplished Latin Jazz musicians.
Artists who have influenced Delgado include: Jose Mangual Sr., Manny Oquendo, Johnny Rodriguez, Jimmy Delgado, Eddie Montalvo, Nicky Marrero, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Orestes Vilato, and Yeyito Iglesias.
Actively involved in music education since 1989, Delgado first began teaching percussion at Johnny Colon’s East Harlem Music. He joined Boys Harbor Performing Arts as a teacher in 1992 after being introduced to the Center by his good friend, Jimmy Delgado.
George has traveled throughout Europe, Japan, The Caribbean and the United States, and has performed clinics for the Abanico School in Paris, France. He is currently working and touring with Eddie Palmieri. Delgado is also working on his own music project and hopes to begin writing a beginner’s book and video in the near future.