
Leonor Cabrera
Leonor María Cabrera Colón, Venezuelan, was born in Caracas on April 5, 1960. She has developed a distinguished professional and artistic career in the educational, cultural, and musical fields. She graduated from the Siso Martínez University of El Salvador (UPEL) as a Comprehensive Education Teacher with a specialization in Aesthetics and as a Higher Technical University Technician in Personnel Administration from the Francisco de Miranda University College. She completed her training with a Diploma in "The Role of the Teacher and Educational Professionalism" (2011) and musical studies at the José Ángel Lamas School of Music and the Carmen Teresa Hurtado Latin American School of Singing. In her professional life, she has served as Culture Coordinator at the República de Bolivia Educational Unit, head of the Public and Private Entities Division of the Culture Sector in the Capital District's Education Zone, and as a teacher with cultural coordination duties in School Districts No. 1 and 2 of the Ministry of Education, where she also served as a supervisor in public and private schools. She was Music Supervisor and head of the Aesthetics Section at the Metropolitan Mayor's Office's Education Secretariat (a position from which she retired), and a music teacher at institutions such as the Instituto Escuela, the Soy y Aprendo School, and the San Jorge School. She participated in the review of the new curriculum for the Technical Intermediate Program in Plastic and Performing Arts. She currently serves as deputy director and director of the Children's Choir at the Lino Gallardo Music School, and as president and vocal teacher of the Rafael Suárez Polyphonic Choir Association. She has complemented her training with various workshops and conferences in areas such as planning, evaluation, cultural management, pedagogical projects, teaching strategies in music education, and teacher training, offered by institutions such as Simón Bolívar University, UPEL Siso Martínez, UCER-DF, and the Education Secretariat of the Metropolitan Mayor's Office. Her artistic career as a chorister and soloist is extensive and renowned. She is a founding member of the Rafael Suárez Polyphonic Choir (1974-2022), a group with which she has participated in productions of symphonic-choral works, national and international tours, and repertoires ranging from J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor, conducted by Helmuth Rilling, to works by Pergolesi, José Ángel Lamas, and Italian lyric music. She has been a soloist in concerts with important Venezuelan orchestras such as the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony Orchestra, the Falcón Symphony Orchestra, and the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, as well as in chamber recitals and opera productions such as Elixir de Amor. Her participation in cultural events is extensive, including festivals, meetings, and competitions as a judge, facilitator, and organizer. These include the Festival de la Voz Magisterial, the Venezuela America Cantat Festival, the Harmonies of the Tropics and Latin America Choral Festival, and tributes to figures such as Antonio Estévez, Efraín Arteaga, and her mother, María Colón de Cabrera. During the pandemic, she continued her activity through virtual concerts and productions and has been invited to national and international events in both in-person and online formats. Internationally, she has represented Venezuela at choral singing festivals in countries such as Ecuador, Aruba, Spain, Colombia, Switzerland, Curaçao, Cuba, and the United States with the Rafael Suárez Polyphonic Choir. Her achievements include first place in Folk Music at the Ibagué International Choir Festival (1987), first place in Folk Music in the Mixed Choir Category, third place in the Classical Music category and the Grand Audience Award at the IV International Choir Competition in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (1991), and two gold medals and one silver medal at the VII International Choral Singing Olympiad in Cincinnati (2012). Her career reflects a constant commitment to education, cultural dissemination, and artistic excellence, distinguishing her as a teacher, manager, performer, and choral leader in Venezuela and internationally.