Leonela Alejandro

Saturday, September 21, 2024
7:30 pm
Sundin Music Hall
1531 Hewitt Avenue, St Paul

This event is past.

Leonela Alejandro is an award-winning classical guitarist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has garnered attention as a soloist, captivating audiences with her powerful and energetic performance style. She has been invited to perform in numerous venues in the United States and Europe, including the Latino Arts Guitar Festival, Northern Illinois University International Guitar Concert Series, Southern Guitar Festival, Florida Guitar Festival, and José Tomás Villa de Petrer Guitar Festival.

Leonela has also placed in over a dozen competitions in the United States, with more than ten first-prize placements including the Guitar Foundation of America International Artist Competition, Louisville Guitar Festival, Appalachian State Guitar Festival, Columbus State University Guitar Symposium, Indiana Guitar Festival, and Chicago Guitar Festival, among others. She has also succeeded abroad as an international competitor, receiving prizes from the Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Guitar Competition, Ciudad de Coria International Guitar Competition, and the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition.

Leonela formally began her musical education when she was seven years old. Following her work with various Puerto Rican teachers including Jomel Rivera, Julio Reyes, and Rey Nieves, she decided to dedicate her professional life to this passion. In 2016, she was accepted into the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico at just 16 years old, studying with world-renowned performer Iván Rijos. After two fruitful years in the conservatory, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and completed her undergraduate degree with Cuban virtuoso René Izquierdo in 2020. Leonela recently completed her graduate studies with Dr. Andrew Zohn at Columbus State University in 2023.

Apart from her celebrated resume in competition settings, Leonela has established herself as a soloist in orchestral settings. She has performed multiple concerti with the Puerto Rico Symphony under the direction of Roselin Pabón including Antonio Vivaldi’s Lute Concerto in D major, RV 93, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto No.1 in D Major, Op.99. She was the soloist in the recent premiere of Atanas Ourkouzounov’s Concertino for Guitar, Percussion and Strings under the direction of Paul Hostetter. She also has appeared as a solo mandolinist with the Schwob School of Music Wind Ensemble as a soloist in Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Festivals under the direction of Jamie L. Nix.

Leonela is an Augustine Strings Ambassador and her string of choice are Paragon Reds. She performs on a 2019 Stephan Connor guitar and a 2023 Martin Blackwell guitar.