Starting as a guitar player at 12, it was amazing how Ney Rosauro (b. October 24, 1952)  shifted to percussion and became known for it. He even used his guitar skills to make a living by teaching guitar lessons way back his early years. 

It was such a surprise that Ney Rosauro became more popular as a percussionist having earned the recognition of one of the most original and dynamic symphonic percussionists and composers in the world. He was able to tour 35 countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguai, Cuba, Switzerland, Austria, Luxemburg, Germany and USA performing as a concert soloist with orchestras in festivals, the most prestigious of which is the International Percussion Festival. 

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it was only in 1977 which is a year before graduation when Ney Rosauro started getting percussion lessons from Luiz Anunciacao, a member of the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira. Besides the basic percussion techniques, he also got to learn how to treat percussion instruments in a very fine and sensitive way.

He earned his degree in Composition and Conducting at the Universidade de Brasilia (Brazil) where he learned piano, violin, oboe, flute and double bass. He got a scholarship from the German government and decided to further his knowledge by pursuing a Masters Degree in Percussion under Prof. Siegfried Fink at the Hochschule fur Musik Wurzburg in Germany. From there, he got a great deal of classical percussion and avant-garde repertory. He received his Doctorate degree at the University of Miami in 1992 wherein he was put under the supervision of Fred Wickstrom. There, he furthered his knowledge and concentrated on jazz, computer and composition.

He became an instructor of percussion at the Escola de Musica de Brasilia and a timpanist of the Orquestra do Teatro Nacional de Brasilia in Brazil from 1975 to 1987. As a teacher he has conducted several courses and workshops in Brazil, Central and South America, Europe and USA. Directly after his teaching career in 1987, he was appointed as the Director of the Percussion Department at the Federal University of Santa Maria, RS in Brazil until 2000. Santa Maria became one of the two most important institutions that cater to classical percussion in Brazil, and students from the different parts of the country moved there to study with him. After which, he moved to Miami and became the Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Miami, Florida. He resigned from his position in May 2009 and decided to dedicate his time to performances and compositions.

Ney Rosauro, besides being a renowned percussionist, is also a seasoned composer. In fact, throughout his composing career, he has created more than 50 percussion pieces and numerous instructional books, many of them published in Brazil, Germany and USA. He also got the opportunity see his pieces performed and recorded by international artists such as Evelyn Glennie and the London Symphony Orchestra. His popular creation which was originally a part of his Masters project, Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra has been performed by more than 1,200 different orchestras from the different parts of the world. He was also able to release nine solo CDs which have received positive reviews and became one of the favorites of percussionists and general music enthusiasts. His solo album "Marimba Brasileira" was highly commended by the national and international critics. In 1990, he was awarded the Musician of the Year by the Musical Press Agency of South Brazil.

Dr. Rosauro is also a popular endorser of percussion instruments. He is currently promoting Yamaha, Sabian, MalletWorks and Contemporanea products and plays exclusively with Vic Firth mallets and sticks.