Isabel Perez Dobarro: Living The American Dream
Able to perform the most complex song with unquestionable ability, the Compostelan pianist Isabel Pérez Dobarro is living the American dream. But she does not renounce her Galician heritage.
Currently gathering praise and applause along the world, the president of New York's Beta Pi Chapter is now, at only 24, one of the figureheads of the world's musical elite.
Pérez Dobarro fills venues around the world, breathing life into the work of our most important composers, while at the same time campaigning for sustainability and the future of the planet in the United Nations.
Does the number 148 hold any significance for you?
When I was 4, I got tested for IQ. This test returned a score of 148, which meant I was very gifted. From that moment …show more content…
Looking back, what was the most important decision you had to make?
New York! Moving to New York changed my life. At 17, I was lucky enough to be offered a piano course in the United States, the Stony Brook International Piano Festival, organised by who would later become my teacher, Dr José Ramón Méndez, and his wife, Dr Amy Gustafson. Thanks to having been in that festival, I had the opportunity to perform in New York's Steinway Hall. This experience was a life-changer, as it was then when I realized that New York was the place where I could better develop my career. It was the hardest decision I had to make, but I think I chose rightly. I'm very happy there.
Where does happiness lie? In applause? In the execution of a very hard piece of music? In reunion with the family and the old routines?
In reunion with the family and the old routines, of course! You are always grateful for applause, but on a personal level they're not so important, the important thing is to see the audience enjoy themselves. For me, it's important to make others' lives happier. Family has always played an important role in my life, and it's an essential thing for me to make them happy and for them to be happy with what I …show more content…
What do these parallel activities represent, and what do they mean to you?
The UN Secretary-General created SDSN (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) in order to kickstart the 17 sustainable development targets for 2030. I'm the New York representative for the Youth section, which is comprised of young people from the ages of 15 to 24, with whom we co-ordinate a number of artistic projects focusing on sustainable development.
How did the possibility of premiering Have you said 'Spectral'? by Eduardo Soutullo come up, and who are your favourite Galician authors?
It came up when I was chosen to take part in Composers Now Festival, one of the leading contemporary music festivals in New York. I spoke to Soutullo, and after reading Have you said 'Spectral'? I realized it was the perfect piece for the occasion. I premiered this piece in the US in the context of that festival. Apart from him, I also admire Octavio Vázquez and Fernando Buide, and Arriola, from Betanzos, one of the great world-class composers of the early 20th
Currently gathering praise and applause along the world, the president of New York's Beta Pi Chapter is now, at only 24, one of the figureheads of the world's musical elite.
Pérez Dobarro fills venues around the world, breathing life into the work of our most important composers, while at the same time campaigning for sustainability and the future of the planet in the United Nations.
Does the number 148 hold any significance for you?
When I was 4, I got tested for IQ. This test returned a score of 148, which meant I was very gifted. From that moment …show more content…
Looking back, what was the most important decision you had to make?
New York! Moving to New York changed my life. At 17, I was lucky enough to be offered a piano course in the United States, the Stony Brook International Piano Festival, organised by who would later become my teacher, Dr José Ramón Méndez, and his wife, Dr Amy Gustafson. Thanks to having been in that festival, I had the opportunity to perform in New York's Steinway Hall. This experience was a life-changer, as it was then when I realized that New York was the place where I could better develop my career. It was the hardest decision I had to make, but I think I chose rightly. I'm very happy there.
Where does happiness lie? In applause? In the execution of a very hard piece of music? In reunion with the family and the old routines?
In reunion with the family and the old routines, of course! You are always grateful for applause, but on a personal level they're not so important, the important thing is to see the audience enjoy themselves. For me, it's important to make others' lives happier. Family has always played an important role in my life, and it's an essential thing for me to make them happy and for them to be happy with what I …show more content…
What do these parallel activities represent, and what do they mean to you?
The UN Secretary-General created SDSN (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) in order to kickstart the 17 sustainable development targets for 2030. I'm the New York representative for the Youth section, which is comprised of young people from the ages of 15 to 24, with whom we co-ordinate a number of artistic projects focusing on sustainable development.
How did the possibility of premiering Have you said 'Spectral'? by Eduardo Soutullo come up, and who are your favourite Galician authors?
It came up when I was chosen to take part in Composers Now Festival, one of the leading contemporary music festivals in New York. I spoke to Soutullo, and after reading Have you said 'Spectral'? I realized it was the perfect piece for the occasion. I premiered this piece in the US in the context of that festival. Apart from him, I also admire Octavio Vázquez and Fernando Buide, and Arriola, from Betanzos, one of the great world-class composers of the early 20th