Meet our coaches
Ivette Burgois Lozano
cuba
- CHORAL DIRECTOR
She born in 1979.
She graduated in choral conducting from the National School of Art and later from the Higher Institute of Art.
She has been a singer in the Chamber Choir of Matanzas since 2007 (15 years in the same).
She has participated in workshops, competitions, festivals, and national and international tours with this group.
She studies at the Elementary and Professional School of Arts of Matanzas as a teacher of choral singing and choral conducting, respectively. She directs several choirs formed by students specializing in music at these institutions.
She has also directed various instrumental ensembles such as the “José White” Camerata and the Matanzas Symphony Orchestra.
Recently, she participated in the IX International Artistic Festival, where she conducted choral workshops and took part in choral meetings presented there.
Maribel Nodarse
Cuba
- CHORAL DIRECTOR
Graduated in orchestral conducting at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA), Havana, Cuba, 2013 with Msc. María Elena Mendiola.
She has received master classes and participated in workshops with important musicians such as: Kunibert Schaeffer (Germany), Rudolph Fisher (Germany), Paulo Bassalo (Portugal), Jorge Cardona (Mexico), Martin Wrinkler (USA), Werner Pfaff (Germany), Gabriel Garrido (Spain), Mike Brewer (USA), Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.
She is a founding member of this group and was also part of the Vocal Group “Novel Voz” from 2006 to 2013, participating as a guest group at the Costal Sound Choir Festival of Simon Fraser University and the Powell River Jazz Festival.
Her experience as a children’s choir director began in 2009 with the “Pequeños Príncipes” Choir, made up of boys between 5 and 12 years old. In 2013 she founded the “Allegretto” Girls Choir and a year later created the “Cantabille” Youth Choir (between 12 and 18 years old).
She ventured into orchestral conducting in 2009, with the Provincial Orchestra of Matanzas and in 2011 conducted the Provincial Orchestra of Camagüey on three occasions. From 2016 to 2018 she served as the assistant director of the Vocal Ensemble Luna, participating in the Yucatán International Choir Festival in 2016, in the Havana World Music Festival among others.
Since February 2020, she has taken over the direction of the group.
She was also invited to the IX International Artistic Festival held in Tabio from June 20 to 25, 2022.
Carlos J. Ávila Báez
Puerto Rico
- Music educator and handbell specialist
**Carlos J. Ávila Báez is a versatile musician who works professionally as a percussionist, orchestra conductor, music educator, and handbell specialist. He was appointed Assistant Principal Percussionist of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra in 2011 and has also performed with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. Since 2013, he has served as the Music Director of the Puerto Rico Youth Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was Assistant Conductor of Orchestras and Opera at Illinois State University and has been a guest conductor for the Central Illinois Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Puerto Rican Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Recognized internationally as a leader in the art of handbell ringing, Carlos has been a guest conductor or lecturer at events such as the International Handbell Symposium, the Handbell Musicians of America Directors Seminar and Area Festivals, and Handbell Exploration. In the 1990s, he and his lifelong colleague and friend, Carlos E. Rivera, were instrumental in training, mentoring, and subsequently forming the first handbell ensembles in Venezuela. From 1993 to 2012, he was the founder and musical director of Vivace, an advanced handbell ensemble that stood out for pushing the artistic and musical boundaries of the instrument. With them, he performed concerts and premiered dozens of new works and arrangements for the instrument in many cities in the USA, Japan, Venezuela, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Since 2019, he has taught a course on the use of handbells in music education and directs the handbell ensemble at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carlos obtained his bachelor’s degree in percussion performance from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He received a Master of Music degree with a specialization in Orchestral Conducting from Illinois State University.
More recently, in 2022, he was invited as a workshop leader and handbell director at the IX International Artistic Festival.
