Roxana Amed, an internationally recognized jazz singer, composer and professor at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, died Oct. 25 at 63 years old after battling an illness, not yet publicly disclosed to the public.
Amed, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, built a career blending contemporary jazz with South American folk music, Argentine rock and poetry. She received two Gardel Awards and multiple Latin Grammy nominations throughout her career, establishing herself as a recognized voice in the international community.
Amed moved to the United States in 2013, continuing to develop her career as a jazz vocalist, songwriter and producer while teaching students to develop their own musical identities at Frost.
Her 2021 album, “Ontology,” received Latin Grammy nominations for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album and Best Arrangement. Her later work continued exploring the intersection of jazz and Argentine cultural traditions, including her 2023 album, “Los trabajos y las noches.”
While her career brought international recognition, Amed believed in helping young musicians find their voice. For Ariana Glaser, a junior studying contemporary voice performance and journalism, Amed was her freshman-year music theory professor.
“You could tell she really cared about every student she taught,” said Glaser. “She was always so patient with me, even when it felt like she was probably explaining the same thing over and over.”
Amed’s influence also reached students through her connection to Latin American music and culture. Miguel Escobar, a sophomore studying music industry with a concentration in contemporary voice performance and double major in art history, said Amed understood the experience of Hispanic students in a way that few other faculty members did.
“In Frost, the Hispanic community is really small,” Escobar said. “There are not a lot of professors that cater to the music that we want to make and the experience we have as Latin musicians.”
As Amed’s private voice student, Escobar also experienced her support outside of their lessons. Last year, when he developed a lung infection that affected his voice, Amed helped him find medical resources and offered advice on recovering his vocal health.
Her support made her someone Escobar and other Hispanic students could turn to when they needed guidance or felt their backgrounds and musical interests were underrepresented.
“For me, the only person that I felt like really understood me as a faculty member in the whole School of Frost was [Amed],” said Escobar. “She was my safe space. And for a bunch of Hispanic students she was that safe space.”
The Frost community is finding ways to honor Amed’s legacy. The chair of the Music of the Americas and Latin American Music (MADE) program announced that CAMfest, the Frost School of Music’s multi-day Creative American Music Festival, will be dedicated to her this year.
For students who learned from Amed, her legacy extends beyond her musical accomplishments. Her influence remains in the musicians she encouraged, the cultural connections she fostered and the relationships she built throughout the Frost community.