The Verona Public Library will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a special concert of Spanish guitar and vocals on Sunday, October 23, at 3 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon of music with guitarist Alex Valencia and mezzo-soprano Kelsey Robertson. Both are award-winning musicians who are currently on the faculty at Lindeblad School of Music.
Valencia has been playing guitar from a young age. He studied at the Academia Superior de Artes de Bogotá in Colombia where he received extensive training in Latin American Music. He has performed across the U.S., both as a soloist and an ensemble musician. Valencia received his degree in guitar performance with the highest honors from Kean University in New Jersey, where he studied under Christopher Kenniff. After his graduation, he moved to Chicago to study with world-renowned guitarist Denis Azabagic. Alex has also performed in master classes for guitarists such as Jason Viauex, and Kevin Gallaguer. Valencia balances a full-time teaching schedule at Lindeblad School of Music with performances in the tristate area. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Hunter College, City University of New York.
Robertson is a New Jersey native who holds a bachelor of music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a master of music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
During her time at Eastman, her operatic highlights included the roles of Mrs. Jones in “Street Scene” and the title role in “Xerxes.” Robertson’s award credits include Eastman School of Music Vocal Concerto Competition Winner, 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Colorado/Wyoming District Winner and Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition Third Prize Winner. She also placed as a finalist in the 2019 Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition and the 2019 Giulio Gari Foundation International Vocal Competition.
The Verona Public Library is located at 17 Gould Street, Verona, NJ. For more information, call 973-857-4848 or email [email protected].
