About Gaby
Welcome to the life of Gaby, where classical music is anything but traditional....
Picture this: you go to a classical music performance and it feels like a rock concert….
Okay maybe not a rock concert, but a concert that is engaging, intimate, and you feel connected to it! My philosophy, at the heart of everything I do, is that everyone should get to experience classical music.
Let’s throw out the idea that classical music has to be something stuffy, traditional, and boring. You don’t need to be over 60 to love it, and you don’t need to be a musician to understand it. Classical music is often created from life experiences and human emotions - both of which we can all relate to! I believe that everyone should get the chance to experience classical music in a way that they can feel connected to it. That’s why you will usually find me giving more intimate concerts in non-traditional venues that allow me to interact with my audience. These performances take place at venues such as private residences, libraries, churches, coffee shops and nursing homes, which are just a few of my favorite performance spaces!
My idea of making music more widely accessible came from my own music education in my home country, Venezuela. I was part of the very famous music education program El Sistema that was started with the idea that every child should have the right to music regardless of their socio-economic background. As cheesy as it sounds, for many, this belief planted seeds in how I wanted to develop my career.
Music has provided me with incredible opportunities. I came to the United States in 2006 looking for the training I could (at the time) not acquire in my home country, as well as searching for a better life away from the political climate that was only just starting to look too unsafe. Music has allowed me to find safety and I would like to do the same in my performances: to create a safe environment for others to experience classical music.
During my Masters at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, I took a class on how to become a Teaching Artist and gained the tools I was missing to connect with the audience in a more meaningful way. I since have designed concerts with the purpose of breaking the barrier between the traditional classical musicians and concert-goers. As a result, I founded In Radiance, a flute quintet that has aimed to shake up the traditional concert model and teaching artistry as we continue to explore new ways to engage audiences. As creative workshop presenters and entrepreneurs, our work has been featured at the Boston Flute Festival, the National Flute Association's Arts Venture Competition, and the C.R.E.A.T.E. Competition. Our EP, Journey through the Genres released in February 2016, features some of these original arrangements.
In my time at the University of North Texas, I fell in love with Early Music and learned to play the traverso as well as the recorder. In 2016, I founded Amaranti Ensemble. Amaranti is a period instrument chamber ensemble that brings chamber music to audiences across the United States. The ensemble has performed at the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition, the International Baroque Institute at Longy, the Boston Early Music Festival as well as the “Works in Progress” series at the Harpsichord Clearing House. In March 2019, they were featured at the Darkwater Women in Music Festival, performing works by female composers across multiple centuries. We create programs that intersect between music and other humanities, making memorable performances for our audiences. As an ensemble, we aim to cultivate meaningful relationships with composers and commission new pieces for traverso and harpsichord.
In addition to performing, I am incredibly passionate about teaching. I maintain a large private flute studio in the DFW Metroplex area and I joined the faculty at Mountain View College in 2017. As a teacher, privately or in masterclasses for modern and baroque flute, I incorporate my mission to teach artistry and accessibility to music. I have been a Guest Artist as Baroque Flutist at Tarrant County College, Tarleton State University and Texas A&M Commerce. I also serve as the Vice President of the Texas Flute Society organizing events geared to college students of North Texas.
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with Distinction from Atlantic Union College and a Masters in Music and Performance Diploma from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. At Longy, I was recognized with the Patricia Sherman Award - this award is given to the student who, in addition to achieving a distinctive artistic and academic record, has exhibited outstanding citizenship and contributions to the community, and an exemplary attitude. Currently, I am working on my Doctorate in Music Arts in Flute Performance with Dr. Mary Karen Clardy with an emphasis in Early Music at the University of North Texas.
When not performing or researching for my next upcoming project, I enjoy spending time taking care of my plants, watching Netflix, trying new foods and raising awareness for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.