Alfonso Montes was born in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela on 9 February 1955.

He studied musical theory and the guitar in Caracas with Jose Francisco Quiroz and Leopoldo Igarza. In 1976, he moved to London to continue his studies at the Royal College of Music where he received an ARCM degree in 1980 as a concert guitarist. His post graduate studies in musical analysis and composition followed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with the British teachers John Duarte and Adrian Thorne.As a composer, Alfonso Montes has received numerous commissions and his works have been recorded and performed by important orchestras including the Saint John Smith Orchestra of London, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela, the Orquesta Simon Bolivar; Chamber ensembles such as the Sinfonietta de Caracas and the Trio de Zagreb and international soloists such as John Williams, Irina Kircher, Costas Cotsiolis and Aldo Lagrutta who have recorded many of the compositions.

Much of his work has been published by International Editors including Ricordi (London, England), Lathkill Music (Chesterfield, England), Corda Music (Saint Albans, Hertfordshire, England) and Verlag Hubertus Nogatz (Essen, Germany) Alfonso Montes has created his own individual style in his compositions which are deeply rooted in the Venezuelan National tradition but also influenced by the European environment in which he lived for many years, especially in England and Germany.His attachment to the land and its influence has created a voice of colour and warmth which transcends frontiers and becomes a celebration of Universality. Alfonso Montes performs regularly in concerts throughout the world as a member of the duo Montes-Kircher. His partner in the duo is his wife the excellent German guitarist, Irina Kircher.