When classical guitarist Leonela Alejandro stepped onstage at New York’s Carnegie Hall recently to perform a solo recital, she was not nervous. Instead, she said, she felt eager to celebrate her hard work and play for the many family members and friends in the audience.
“Before the concert, I kept thinking to myself, I really hope I can try to enjoy this and not let the name and significance of Carnegie Hall get in the way,” said Alejandro, a 2020 graduate of UW-Milwaukee’s renowned classical guitar program.
She is likely the program’s first alum to perform solo at Carnegie Hall, said René Izquierdo, professor and guitar area chair in UWM’s Peck School of the Arts.
The recital was part of a 53-concert winner’s tour, launched after Alejandro earned first prize in the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. This is considered the world’s top competition for classical guitarists, Izquierdo said.
Becoming a guitarist
From the time she arrived at UWM, it was clear that Alejandro had something special.
“She was very quick in learning, very disciplined, very hard-working,” Izquierdo said. “You could tell that there was nothing that would get in the way of her becoming a guitarist.” At the same time, she is also kind and authentic, qualities that come through in her playing, he said.
Alejandro was born in Puerto Rico to a musical family. Her father, a recording and audio engineer, has played trumpet in salsa bands for decades. He taught Alejandro and one of her brothers to read music at an early age. Her two older brothers played piano, and Alejandro was drawn to the guitar, which she began playing at age 7.
By age 12, she was taking lessons with guitarist Ivan Rijos, a professor at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, and entered the conservatory’s undergraduate program at 16. Two years later, in 2018, she transferred to Milwaukee because she wanted to study with Izquierdo at the UWM Peck School guitar studio.
Her first year at UWM focused on improving her playing technique and choosing a musical repertoire that suited her skills and personality. “I was really determined to get through that technical, rebuilding stage as quickly as possible, practicing as much as possible, because I was so excited to learn new music and to get to perform it,” Alejandro said.
This was her first time away from her family in Puerto Rico, and winter was a shock. But “I felt very taken care of” by the Peck School community, she said. Alejandro began baking as a way to get a break from the guitar. She was known for bringing homemade doughnuts to share with fellow musicians and Izquierdo in the guitar studio. “She got along with all the students and did things like that that no one asked her to do,” Izquierdo said.
Intense competition
After graduating from UWM, Alejandro spent two years at Columbus State University in Georgia, graduating with her Master of Music in Performance degree in 2023. She then returned to Milwaukee for a year of intensive work with Izquierdo to prepare for the Guitar Foundation of America competition.
Held in Fullerton, California, in June 2024, the weeklong competition began with a field of 40 guitarists. When Alejandro made it to the semifinal round of 12, she felt especially nervous. After playing in that round, she called Izquierdo to say that she didn’t think she had done well and did not expect to make it to the next round of four.
Izquierdo reassured her that she would try again the following year. “Usually, it takes three or four times before someone is the winner,” he said. But to Alejandro’s surprise, she made the final four and ultimately took first prize.
The win was a relief, she joked, because it meant she wouldn’t have to return to the emotionally intense competition the next year.
“And I just kept thinking about my family and how excited they would be when I called to tell them,” she said.
Playing with gratitude
At Alejandro’s Carnegie Hall recital on April 9, she performed works by Puerto Rican composers Leonardo Egúrbida, Juan Sorroche and Ernesto Cordero. She liked looking into the sold-out theater and seeing her parents and brothers, her boyfriend and his family, many friends, and even some veteran Puerto Rican guitarists.
“I was so full of love and gratitude that day,” she said. “I felt gratitude to have the opportunity to play these three Puerto Rican composers that are so important to us on the island when it comes to classical guitar.”
Izquierdo said he has enjoyed seeing Alejandro develop as a performer. “She gets nervous like everyone else, but she actually grows on the stage,” he said. “It’s like she finds herself in that element. She wants you to hear the story she’s narrating through the guitar.”
UWM’s growing status
The year before Alejandro won the Guitar Foundation competition, another UWM student, Kevin Loh, took second place. Alejandro sees these prizes as evidence of the rising profile of UWM’s classical guitar program under Izquierdo’s leadership.
“I’ve been very fortunate to travel to a lot of different places and see guitar studios in other parts of the country,” she said. “And I think there’s so much grit and love and work and passion that goes into UWM’s guitar studio.”
Alejandro has a few more months of traveling and performing ahead but looks forward to returning to her apartment in Milwaukee later this year to work on a recording project and learn new music. The city has become her second home. She remains equally fond of the university where she earned her undergraduate degree.
“I’m really proud to have gone to UWM for school,” she said. “I’m proud to be a part of this program.”
