Leonela Alejandro - GFA Winner 2024
Winner of the Rose Augustine Grand Prize in the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, Leonela Alejandro is a classical guitarist from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. She is captivating audiences and winning competitions with her powerful and energetic performance style culminating in her first place finish in the world’s most prestigious guitar competition, the GFA .
Leonela has placed in over a dozen competitions in the United States, with more than ten first-prize wins including the Louisville Guitar Festival, AIndiana Guitar Festival, and Chicago Guitar Festival, among others. She is also a prize-winner the le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix guitar Competition, Ciudad de Coria International Guitar Competition, and the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition.
Leonela formally began her musical education when she was seven years old. Following her work with various Puerto Rican teachers including Jomel Rivera, Julio Reyes, and Rey Nieves, she decided to dedicate her professional life to this passion. In 2016, she was accepted into the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico at just 16 years old, studying with world-renowned performer Maestro Iván Rijos. After two fruitful years in the Conservatory, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and completed her undergraduate degree with Cuban virtuoso René Izquierdo in 2020. Leonela recently completed her graduate studies with Dr. Andrew Zohn at Columbus State University in 2023.
Apart from her celebrated resume in competition settings, Leonela has established herself as a soloist in orchestral settings. She has performed multiple concerti with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Roselín Pabón including Antonio Vivaldi’s Lute Concerto in D major, RV 93, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto No.1 in D Major, Op.99. She was the soloist in the recent premiere of Atanas Ourkouzounov’s Concertino for Guitar, Percussion and Strings under the direction of Paul Hostetter. She also has appeared as a solo mandolinist with the Schwob School of Music Wind Ensemble as a soloist in Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Festivals under the direction of Jamie L. Nix.
Leonela Alejandro plays Bach
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Tickets are $45 for General Admission, $37 for Seniors/Students, $15 for Youth (18 & under). Purchase tickets on the link below.
Be sure to come early to enjoy our concession and pre-concert performances by talented classical guitar students at 6:15 pm. The main concert starts at 7:00 pm.
*This event will take place at Koerner Hall in the Vancouver Academy of Music, 1280 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC.
March 20, 2026 - 7 PM with a pre-concert performance at 6:15 PM
Koerner Hall in the Vancouver Academy of Music (VAM), 1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC