Atanas Tzvetkov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1972. He attended the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where he obtained his master's degree in music pedagogy. In 1995, he began studies with Ernesto Bitetti at the IU Jacobs School of Music, where he earned a Performer's Diploma, master's degree, and doctoral degree in guitar performance. In 1999, Tzvetkov won first prize in the Second Annual Competition in the Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America, sponsored by the Spanish Cultural Center and the IU Latin American Music Center. The competition was followed by recordings and a series of concerts throughout the United States. In 2003, he recorded and released his first solo compact disk of guitar works by Spanish and Latin American composers. Under his direction, the Pre-College Guitar Program at Jacobs has greatly expanded.
