Appearances
Portillo International Music Festival, Chile, 2024; Academia de Orquestas Latinoamericanas, Chile, 2023; Cartagena International Music Festival, Colombia, 2023; Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, 2019–21; FEMUSC, Brazil, 2017
What is your earliest memory of classical music?
Watching a concert of the symphony of my city when I was about 11 years old, and I just wanted to be a member of the orchestra one day.
Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
Professor Ida Bieler was my violin teacher at UNCSA during my master’s and she made a great impact on my life. She gave me the opportunity to study abroad and helped me change many things about my playing that made me better.
What made you decide to become a musician? Was there a particular performance or person that influenced your decision?
When I became a member of the orchestra of my city when I was only 14, I started thinking I wanted to do it professionally. By the time I finished high school, I was sure I wanted to become a professional violinist.
How did you hear about TŌN? What inspired you to apply?
As a member of the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, I have been involved with their partnership with TŌN, and always saw the best musicians from Colombia applying. So now being part of TŌN myself has been a truly amazing experience.
How would you like to see orchestra concerts evolve in the future?
I would like to see orchestra concerts with innovative performances, collaborating with other performing arts, so that the performance becomes more interesting for public audiences and gets more people to watch them.
What is the most memorable performance you ever had?
Playing Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 and Stravinsky’s Firebird at UNCSA with guest conductor Larry Rachleff in 2019. He sadly passed away recently. It was the most inspiring performance of my life.
What is your proudest achievement as a musician?
Having the opportunity to study abroad has been one of the most important achievements in my career.
Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
I don’t think there’s a particular person or people. I respect everyone in this field because of our resilience and strength to keep working on improving ourselves as musicians.
Do you have a favorite non-classical musician or band?
I love pop music in general. Music genres such as salsa, merengue, and reggaeton.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
If I weren’t a musician, I would have studied civil engineering since my dad and my brothers are engineers.
What is a surprising part of playing your instrument that you think most people don’t know?
The number of hours we commit to learn this instrument is something people don’t know.
What is the biggest challenge and/or surprise about playing in an orchestra?
Playing in an orchestra requires a lot of skills in order to blend your sound with the person next to you and so on.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Work harder. You can always do better.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
I wish I was more conscious about what I was doing in every practice session.