BIOGRAPHIES FERNANDO VARELA The story behind Fernando Varela begins and ends with a voice. A voice tells the tale of a breathtaking tenor whose spirit and determination has defied the odds. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fernando moved to Florida at the age of eight, and while he always loved music it was not until he was seventeen that he discovered the impressive talent he had within him. Fernando trained with some of opera’s renowned classical icons and tours worldwide with Grammy AwardWinning producer David Foster. Varela can also be seen featured on David Foster’s recently released all-new PBS Special. He has also performed amongst some legendary superstars including Lionel Richie, Sarah Brightman, Babyface, Gladys Knight, Peter Cetera, Neil Diamond, Benny Andersson, Seal, Jewel, The Beach Boys, Steven Tyler, Josh Groban, and Chaka Kahn. This year saw Fernando as a special guest performer at The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Gloria and Emilio Estefan, as well as celebrating Julio Iglesias on The Grammy Salute to Legends. Varela is signed with Universal Music Group and released his debut album Vivere, March 2017, accompanied by his debut PBS Special, Coming Home. Fernando is currently in the studio with producer Emilio Estefan working on his follow-up album. Fernando Varela sets the standard for what true musicianship is all about, combining a unique voice and an engaging passion which lights up the stage.
MIGUEL SALAS Miguel Salas, a Venezuelan baritone born in Caracas, began his musical studies at the age of nine at "Maria Teresa Castillo" Cultural Center. While there, he placed first in the II Children's Voice Festival of Chacao (Caracas - Venezuela) and later became a member of the "Children's Show Choir of Sucre" for two years where he performed in several televised events. Miguel then moved to the city of Maracay where he joined the music school "Federico Villena" studying music theory, musical dictation, harmony, academic piano, classical guitar, music aesthetics, music history, counterpoint and classical singing with teachers Hermes Gomez and Lola Linares. While there, he performed as a soloist in various productions in the Maracay Opera House. In 2006, he received a scholarship from the Government of Aragua state to study Italian and Opera in Florence, Italy. Following his studies, he worked with the National System of Youth Orchestras as a choir director and vocal coach. He performed with Simon Bolivar Symphony Chorus for two years with which he 6
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