Dr. Juan Megna is an Argentinian percussionist/ drummer, bandleader, and educator. He lived 12 years in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, where he got his Bachelor in Music from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). In Brazil played and/or recorded with prestigious musicians such as Rubinho Antunes, Vinicius Dorin, Jarbas Barbosa, Felipe Silveira, Albano Sales, Bruno Mangueira, among many others.

In 2015, Juan started a master’s degree at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. In this city, he played with Phil deGreg group, Rusty Burge, Steve Alee, among others, and got the degree in 2017.

In 2017, Juan moved to Fairfax, Virginia to pursue his doctoral degree at George Mason University. In the Washington DC musical scene, Juan played with Wade Beach, Shawn Purcell, Wayne Wilentz, among others. Also, he formed The Juan Megna Quintet. The repertoire is centered on a mix of Juan’s compositions, blended jazz, Argentinian and Afro-Brazilian rhythms.

As an educator, Juan worked in the Associaçāo Amigos do Projeto Guri, giving pedagogical support to teachers around Sao Paulo state, Brazil. At George Mason University he leads the Latin-American Ensemble. This group has been awarded by the DownBeat Magazine with the 42nd (2019), 43rd (2020), and 44th (2021) students awards as an “Outstanding Performance”.

As an active researcher, Juan performed a clinic at the Jazz Education Network, New Orleans 2020, entitled "The Brazilian 16th-note phrasing through Cabula rhythm, Samba, and Bossa Nova", focusing on the development of Afro-Brazilian popular genres from sacred music to urban popular music styles.