Alberto holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A., 1975) from the University of Washington in Seattle where he studied with Béla Siki. Prior to his doctoral studies he was awarded  a Fulbright grant (1970-1972) for study in Barcelona with Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha. Before his post graduate studies in Spain Ràfols studied with Howard Karp and Claire Richards at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Throughout his career as a pianist and pedagogue Dr. Ràfols held academic positions at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), University of Washington (Seattle) and University of Texas (San Antonio). He has performed and lectured extensively in Europe, South America, Canada, and the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii).

 

Before his last appointment as Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County in California (2001-2009), Dr. Ràfols held senior administrative positions in Portland, Oregon and Dallas, Texas. He has served as a consultant, site evaluator, board member, and panelist for various arts organizations at the federal, state and local levels, including numerous assignments for the National Endowment for the Arts. Internationally, he is proud to have served the country as Cultural Ambassador in Spain, Portugal, Peru, Colombia and the West Indies. In 1991 Ràfols was an Arts Administration Fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts (International Program) in Washington D.C.