Born in Buenos Aires in 1957, Gabriel Valverde studied composition at the National Conservatory of Music with Manuel Juárez. In France, he studied musicology with Domonique Patier at the University of Poitiers (1982-1983), and electo-acoustic music with the Groupe de Musique Expérimentale in Bourges (1983-1984). He also participated in composition seminars led by Helmut Lachenmann et Ivo Malec.

From 1990 to 1992, he lived in the United States, where he undertook further study of composition and computer-aided composition at the State University of New York in Buffalo.

His works have been performed at the ISCM World Music days in Hungary (1986), Germany (1987), and Sweden (1994), and have been awarded numerous prizes, both in his native Argentina and abroad, including from the Bourges International Competition of Electroacoustic Music, Argentinian National Endowment for the Arts (1988-1990), Argentinian National Rostrum of Composers (1984-1985), Forum Jünger Komponisten WDR (1992), and a first prize from the Buenos Aires Municipal Council.

He has received commissions from several noteworthy institutions and ensembles, such as GMEB (France), Hannover School of Music, Basel Musikakademie, Gaudeamus Foundation, Kronos Foundation (Belgium), McGill University, Montreal University, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, North American New Music Festival, Argentinian National Endowment for the Arts, LIPM (Buenos Aires), Arditti Quartet, Ensemble 2E2M, Attacca Ensemble, Leipzig Radio Orchestra, and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Sweden).

Valverde has also served as a jury member for several composition competitions in Argentina and abroad.

He taught composition at the University of Fine Arts in La Plata (Argentina) and currently teaches music theory at the Buenos Aires Municipal Conservatory. He was a cofounder and remains the director of the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Música Contemporánea (CEAMC - Centre of Advanced Studies of Contemporary Music) in Buenos Aires. In 1988, he also cofounded the Línea Adicional Foundation, a collective of Argentine composers.