Venezuelan violinist Marielisa Alvarez is a graduate of El Sistema, the National System of Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela. During her time in Venezuela, she performed in several orchestras, including the Barquisimeto Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and the Lara Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she was featured as a soloist with orchestras and recitals organized by the Latin American Violin Academy.
Ms. Alvarez has performed at festivals and master classes in numerous countries, including Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, the United States and Finland. She has studied and collaborated with members of the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Irina Muresanu, Andres Cardenes, Pamela Franck, Joseph Silverstein, and Gustavo Dudamel, among others. Her principal mentors during her violin and string pedagogy studies have been Francisco Díaz, José Francisco Del Castillo, Sophie Vilker, Rictor Noren, Mimi Zweig, and Mela Tenenbaum.
Inspired by her own experience in El Sistema, Marielisa co-founded the Boston String Academy, which hosts a highly successful string orchestra program, serving inner-city children from the Boston area. She is also a founding member of the Camerata Latinoamericana, a newly formed Boston-based string ensemble whose mission is to promote classical Latin American music and to collaborate with music education programs.
Ms. Alvarez continues to collaborate with Venezuela by teaching in its different nucleos, conservatories and summer festivals. She also collaborates with El Sistema-inspired programs in Mexico and the U.S., such as Play on Philly!, Atlanta Music Project, YOLA, and Kids 4 Harmony in Pittsfield, MA, where she has been mentoring teachers and students intensively since Fall 2013. She is a faculty member in the teacher education department at Longy School of Music of Bard College and is actively involved in its new Sistema Side-by-Side Series. Ms. Alvarez holds a Master of Music Degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma from The Boston Conservatory.