Leonela Alejandro: A Classical Guitar Journey from Puerto Rico to Knoxville

A prize opens a door

When a guitarist wins a major competition, the announcement gives us a name to remember. A concert gives us a chance to discover the musician behind it. Leonela Alejandro received the Rose Augustine Grand Prize in the Guitar Foundation of America’s 2024 International Concert Artist Competition. The organization’s results identify her with Puerto Rico, placing an important milestone in her career within an international field of performers. GFA results

For Knoxville listeners, that distinction is a starting point. Her story also brings together early encouragement, sustained study and the experience of carrying music from one community to another. A recital lets us hear the outcome of that work without needing to evaluate it as a competition. We can follow a phrase, notice a change of color, or find ourselves drawn to a composer we have never heard before.

An education built through teachers

Alejandro comes from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and began formal musical study at seven. Her early teachers included Jomel Rivera, Julio Reyes and Rey Nieves. At sixteen, she entered the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico to study with Iván Rijos. She later transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, completing her undergraduate degree with René Izquierdo in 2020, before completing graduate studies with Andrew Zohn at Columbus State University in 2023. Columbus State artist biography

That sequence describes more than a list of schools. It gives young players a realistic picture of musical development as an extended relationship with teachers. Progress can involve remaining with a mentor long enough to build a foundation, then encountering another perspective. An accomplished concert performance may feel immediate to an audience, but the education supporting it stretches across years.

In a 2025 interview, Alejandro recalled growing up in a musical household, with a trumpet-playing father and two pianist brothers. She also remembered an early attraction to rock and electric guitar. Her account of Rijos was especially personal: he made time for lessons before she entered the conservatory and later encouraged her to continue her education with Izquierdo. She described returning to perform in Puerto Rico as meaningful partly because former teachers would now hear her as a guest artist. Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular interview

Returning to a familiar challenge

Alejandro’s GFA success followed earlier encounters with the organization. The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee reports that she participated in its youth competition in 2017 and 2018. In June 2024, in Fullerton, California, she worked through three rounds combining required and chosen repertoire to win the grand prize. Her university’s account also records her pleasure in reaching the final alongside musicians she admired and her enthusiasm for the travel and human connections offered by the ensuing concert tour. UW–Milwaukee report

Alejandro has also appeared in educational settings as a visiting artist. Pensacola State College advertised both a master class and a recital during her February 2026 visit. That pairing matters for a guitar community: students can encounter the same musician as a performer and as someone who listens closely to their own playing. Pensacola State College announcement

Repertoire as a personal choice

A classical guitarist’s individuality is expressed partly through repertoire. For a May 2025 appearance in Puerto Rico, Alejandro discussed a program that included music by Brazilian composer Paulo Bellinati, Puerto Rican composer Rolando Miranda and Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu. The announced selections included Bellinati’s Coco de Alagoas and Um Amor de Valsa, Miranda’s Appassionata and Takemitsu’s Equinox. These are examples from that particular program, rather than a prediction of what she will perform in Knoxville. Interview and program preview

The geographical range offers a useful invitation to listeners. “Classical guitar” names a performance tradition with room for many composers and distinct musical languages. Instead of expecting every piece to behave alike, we can ask what changes from one work to the next. Is a phrase shaped around a recurring pulse? Does a silence feel like an interruption or a continuation? Which musical gesture stays in the memory when the piece ends?

Her experience extends beyond solo recital playing. Columbus State’s biography documents performances with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra in Vivaldi’s D-major lute concerto and Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s first guitar concerto, as well as her participation in the premiere of Atanas Ourkouzounov’s Concertino for Guitar, Percussion and Strings. It also records a mandolin appearance in Respighi’s Roman Festivals with the Schwob School of Music Wind Ensemble. Columbus State biography

Listening together in Knoxville

A visiting artist connects a local audience with a much larger musical world. For Knoxville Classical Guitar, Alejandro’s appearance is a chance to welcome a performer whose education began in Puerto Rico and continued through several American institutions. Her local connection is this encounter with our concert community.

Knoxville appearance: October 2026

KCG lists Leonela Alejandro for Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 425 North Cedar Bluff Road. Check the concert listing for admission and any changes.

Proposed internal links, to activate after publication: – Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar in East Tennessee — /blog/classical-and-fingerstyle-east-tennessee – Muriel Anderson: Listening Across Guitar Traditions — /blog/muriel-anderson-guitar-traditions