Guest Artist Recital: Leonela Alejandro, guitar

Leonela Alejandro, guitar - headshot
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Ramsey Concert Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center
Free Events
Guest Artists
ABOUT LEONELA ALEJANDRO

Winner of the Rose Augustine Grand Prize in the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, Leonela Alejandro is a classical guitarist from Guaynabo, 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, Marlow Guitar Series, Louisville Guitar Society, Orange County Guitar Circle, 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 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 Maestro 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 Orchestra under the direction of Roselín 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 guitars built by luthiers Stephan Connor and Martin Blackwell. 

Faculty Recital/Guest Artist Recital: Maggie Snyder with Allemagnetti - Bach 'n Stuff

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Ramsey Concert Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center
Free Events
Guest Artists
ALLEMAGNETTI

Professor Maggie Snyder and Dr. Alexandra Snyder Dunbar form the sister duo, Allemagnetti, an ensemble focused on playing historical repertoire as well as new works for viola and harpsichord. They are both committed to expanding the repertoire by transcribing and commissioning new works. The sisters have been seen in concert halls across the United States and abroad, including Carnegie's Stern, Zankel, and Weill Halls, Alice Tully, and in the UK, Greece, Prague, Russia and South Korea, and have performed with leading ensembles, artists, and at top universities, conservatories, and music schools throughout the country, including Interlochen Center for the Arts, The Juilliard School, and the University of Georgia. Cumulatively, the duo holds degrees from the Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, the Manhattan School of Music, Interlochen Center for the Arts, and the University of Memphis. The Snyders have performed together since they were children and in May, 2009, made their recital debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. That recital featured three world premiere works written for the ensemble by Thomas Pasatieri, Kamran Ince, and Garrett Byrnes. The group was hailed as a "winning pair," with a "highly promising debut," by the New York Concert Review. The duo has received special recognition from the former senator of Tennessee, Harold Ford and released its duo recording in 2013 Allemagnetti: Music for Viola and Harpsichord in 2013 on Arabesque Records. The album can be heard on all streaming platforms and videos of the duo can be streamed on Maggie Snyder’s YouTube Channel.

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