BIOGRAPHY

Salva is a Rwandan-born guitarist, composer, and educator based in the United States on an O-1B visa for artists with extraordinary ability. His music blends modern fingerstyle guitar with traditional African string textures, especially those of the Inanga and Rwandan palm-wine sounds. Over the past decade, he has worked to preserve and evolve these styles through teaching, collaboration, and performance.

He founded Fingerpickers in Africa, a platform that promotes acoustic guitar culture across the continent through lessons, workshops, and the Fingerpickers in Africa Festival, returning for its second edition in 2026. His performances span East Africa, Europe, the UK, and the U.S., making him Rwanda’s first fingerstyle guitarist to tour internationally.

“The guitar makes the stage feel like the cozy corner of my living room. It gave me the power to express my vulnerability, maybe for the first time. I don’t really play music. I live it, live, along with the audience.”