Jose Pradas was born in Camaguey, Cuba. He began his musical studies at the Luis Casas Romero Vocational School of Art with the Russian masters Yury Kravchinkov and German Pavlov, and continued with Cuban professors Ariel Fonte and Rafael Alvarez. In 1985, he entered the Jose White Professional School of Music under the tutelage of Juan Ramon Orol and Onel Galan. In 1988, Mr. Pradas won second place in the Amadeo Roldan National Contest, and received a special mention for his interpretation of Cuban music. In 1990, Mr. Pradas joined the Camaguey Symphony Orchestra and the Union String Quartet. In 1993, the Union String Quartet was awarded the National Jose Ardevol Award for the best popular music group. In 1994, he participated in the VII International Chamber Music Festival in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela and later joined the Aragua Symphony Orchestra as a Maestro de Fila where he performed for 22 years, participating in several national and international tours, which included Martinique, Cuba, and Colombia. Mr. Pradas has performed with several Venezuelan orchestras, including Zulia Symphony Orchestra, Guarico Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra of Teques and Simon Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra. He has done further studies with Ana Ruth Bermudez (Cuba), Carmen Rodriguez (Cuba), and Alejandro Sarda (Venezuela).
As an educator, Mr. Pradas has taught in multiple professional music schools in Cuba and various conservatories of the National System of Orchestras of Venezuela in Maracay, Cagua, La Victoria, Los Teques, Calabozo, and San Fernando de Apure. He has taught development workshops and seminars for youth and adults. In 2004, Mr. Pradas founded the Maracay String Quartet under the tutelage of the Austrian Maestro and cellist, Florian Ebersberg, participating in many chamber music concerts in Caracas, Venezuela and the pro-music series of the Quinta Anauco. In 2008, he participated in the 2nd Euro-Orchestra Festival (Moscow, Russia). From 2001 to 2015, Mr. Pradas taught cello and chamber music for the Cubiro Summer Course (Venezuela). In 2013, he joined the cello and chamber music faculty at the Federico Villena School of Music. In 2015, Mr. Pradas relocated to Miami, Florida, where he joined the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO) and the Florida Chamber Orchestra. He has shared the stage with numerous international artists, including Placido Domingo, Paloma San Basilio, Juanes, Nestor Torres, Willy Chirino, Emilio Stefan, and Il Volo, among others. He has taught cello to children and adolescents in Arvida Middle School since 2016. Mr. Pradas began as a guest teacher at Conchita Espinosa Conservatory of the Arts in 2018, and joined the Conchita Espinosa Academy and Conservatory music faculty in 2021.
