By Coral Gables Gazette staff
Classical guitarist Leonela Alejandro performs Thursday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ, continuing the Community Arts Program’s 41st annual Summer Concert Series.
Alejandro, winner of the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition’s Rose Augustine Grand Prize, brings a wide-ranging solo program to the church’s sanctuary at 3010 De Soto Blvd., across from the Biltmore Hotel.
The concert is the fourth program in this year’s six-concert series, which runs every other Thursday through Aug. 20.
A recital that circles the globe
Thursday’s recital moves through works shaped by Brazilian, Mexican, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Italian and Cuban musical traditions.
The program includes music by Brazilian composer Paulo Bellinati, Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu and Puerto Rican composers Leonardo Egúrbida and Ernesto Cordero. It also includes works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and closes with Leo Brouwer’s variations on a theme by Django Reinhardt.
That range gives the evening a broader frame than a traditional chronological guitar recital. Instead, Alejandro’s program moves across national styles and musical languages, from Latin American rhythm and color to the more impressionistic sound world of Takemitsu and the virtuosic concert tradition associated with Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Brouwer.
As is customary at the church’s concerts, audiences are asked to hold applause until the end of each complete work rather than between movements.
A guitarist with a major competition win
Alejandro, a classical guitarist from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, began her formal musical education at age seven. At 16, she was accepted into the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, where she studied with Iván Rijos. She later completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with Cuban guitarist René Izquierdo and her graduate studies at Columbus State University with Andrew Zohn.
Her 2024 Guitar Foundation of America win placed her among the leading young guitarists on the international competition circuit. The city’s event listing describes her performances as combining “power, energy and intimacy” and cites Izquierdo’s description of her as “bold and unique as a musician and a person.”
Alejandro has also appeared as a soloist with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, performing concerti by Vivaldi and Castelnuovo-Tedesco — a composer who appears on Thursday’s program as well.
A 41-year Coral Gables tradition
The Community Arts Program Summer Concert Series has been part of Coral Gables’ cultural calendar since 1985, bringing classical and jazz artists to the historic Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ sanctuary during the summer months.
This year’s series opened June 11 with Empire Wild, followed by saxophonist Langston Hughes II and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. Alejandro’s July 23 recital is followed by pianist Clayton Stephenson on Aug. 6 and vocalist Kate Kortum on Aug. 20.
Beyond the summer concerts, the Community Arts Program runs year-round music education programs, including the CAP Conservatory for the Arts and the Miami Jazz Institute.
A free master class the next morning
Alejandro will also lead a free CAP Summer Master Class from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, July 24, at the same church.
The session, titled “Harnessing Energy,” is open to children, youth and adults. Prepared guitarists may register to perform in the class, while others may attend to listen and learn.
What to know
General admission tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Patron tickets, which include reserved seating in rows one through nine, are $50 in advance and $55 at the door. Season and mini-series packages are also available. All tickets include free parking.
Alejandro’s free master class runs from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, July 24, at the same church.
