Important Information

amelia

Amelia Rivera Barreto was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1988, relocating with her family in the summer of 1989 to Guatemala city. Showing a passion and talent for singing and performing from a young age, Amelia took voice lessons from her chorale director Maria Isabel Arroyave Morales who encouraged her to continue her vocal and musical training and to participate as a soloist in various events. In the winter of 2003 Amelia joined the Performing Arts Studio academy in Guatemala city directed by Maestro Willy Gutierrez. In the Performing Arts Studio Amelia studied pop vocal technique and drama, and performed as a soloist in individual and group pop music recitals until 2007 when she moved to Seattle, Washington. While in High School Amelia participated in concerts, talent shows and drama competitions around Guatemala, Colombia, El Salvador and Dallas, Texas. During her senior year in High School Amelia tried different styles of music and began her classical training with Baritone Luis Felipe Girón May. As a soprano she participated in "Mosaico cultural" 2006 and 2007 in Antigua Guatemala, among other classical music events. To complement her music studies she started taking piano and music theory with Guatemalan pianist Denisse Menes before deciding to take music as a career.Before leaving Guatemala to go to the U.S. Amelia performed popular music ranging from trova to bolero with pianist Diego Noack and guitarist Sergio Zepeda, among other local artists. In 2008, Amelia moved to Seattle, WA where she studied vocal performance and took advantage of the amazing music scene the area offers. She studied at Shoreline Community College where she performed with the Chamber Chorale and the Shoreline Singers (a capella ensemble) for a year. She also participated in four student recitals and three ensemble recitals among other perfomances in the area. Amelia was awarded to Outstanding juries and five honorable mentions for her jury performances. Currently Amelia is living in the Twin Cities, and attending the University of Minnesota where she plans to double major in voice performance and communications. She will be singing with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale starting this Fall, and plans to audition for multiple ensembles in the University and TC area. She is also working on her first single and some music covers with producer and songwriter Irene Salamanca.