Susana Frade Machado

Guitar

Saturday
February 20, 2021
4:00 pm EST

Sunday
February 21, 2021
3:00 pm EST

Cuban classical guitarist Susana Frade Machado has been member of several guitar ensembles like Sonantas Habaneras guitar orchestra (2005-2014), Cuarteto Guitarras de La Habana, Duo Con-Trastes (2010- 2018), and Duo Morningstar since 2019.

Frade has performed at important Cuban national festivals like Identidades, the International Guitar Festival of Havana, Festival of Poetry, Young Guitar Festival of Camagüey, Festival of Contemporary Music and Chamber Music Festivals in Cuba. She has also performed in the most prestigious concert halls along the country, like “Iglesia de Paula”, “Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís” and “Casa de Las Américas”. Frade made a concert tour in Cuba as a soloist as part of the prize of the National Guitar Competition in 2010. She made also concert tours as part of Sonantas Habaneras guitar orchestra performing concerts as a soloist with them.

Born in Havana on May 11th, 1988, in Havana, she started to play the guitar at the age of 10 at Manuel Saumell Music Conservatory and continued her studies at Amadeo Roldan Music Conservatory. Frade holds a master’s degree from UTSA and a bachelor’s degree in Music with a major in guitar performance from Instituto Superior de Arte in Cuba. She is a first-year Doctoral student at Florida State University, she is part of the Music Department of UTSA as an alumnus. Member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the Hispanic Graduate Student Association, and the FSU Classical Guitar Society.

In 2020, she received her Master of Music degree under the tutoring of Dr. Matthew Dunne and Dr. Isaac Bustos at UTSA in San Antonio, Texas. She was finalist in the 2020 Ex-Aequo International Classical Guitar Competition. With Morningstar duo she performed at the 2020 Southwest Guitar Symposium at UTSA. She participated in the Texas A&M International Guitar Symposium and Competition, and in the GFA Guitar Foundation of America. She also performed in the Studio Recitals of the guitar Department at UTSA. With some other guitar students of UTSA, Frade performed in High schools and College in Brownsville, Texas.

She studied in masterclasses with Isaac Bustos, Matthew Dunne, Leo Brouwer, Rosa Matos, Elvira Skourtis, Teresa Madiedo, Joaquín Clerch, Ricardo Gallén, Pepe Romero, Marcos Tamayo, Eduardo Martín, Fabio Zanón, Eduardo Inestal, Denis Azabajic, and Bruce Holzman among others.

She was the Graduate Teaching Assistant and head teacher of String Project at UTSA. In 2019 she performed at the International Guitar Festival of Zihuatanejo, Mexico with guitarist Zuleida Suárez. She also accompanied the singer Sarah Miga in her master’s recital at UTSA. She performed at the UTHealth Center and at Franklin Park Senior Retirement home, this last one in a regular basis.

In 2014, she made a concert tour with Duo Con-Trastes in the South of France as part of the promotion of their first album “Contrastes”.  She also performed as a soloist at the Paris’s American Cathedral that same year. In 2017 she made another concert tour in France but this time with Cuarteto Guitarras de La Habana.

She has played with the Symphonic Orchestra from the Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory conducted by Daiana García, Sonantas Habaneras guitar orchestra and the National Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi recognized Frade with the Love of Learning award during Fall 2020. This year she also won the Outstanding Guitar Performance award at UTSA and the 1st place on the 20th Annual COLFA Spring Research Conference in the graduate category. In 2007 and 2008 consecutively, she won the First Prize in the Musicalia categories of standard and higher level at the National Guitar Competition Isaac Nicola. In 2010 she participated again, this time winning the third prize. In 2014, at the International Guitar Festival of Havana, she obtained a special Mención from the jury, for the performance of José Ardévol’s Sonata and Marlos Nobre’s Seresta.

In 2012 she recorded “Jesus Ortega and Cuban Guitar” and “Cuban Landscape with Sonantas”, a double album with Sonantas Habaneras Guitar Orquestra under the Colibri music label. In this album she recorded as a soloist Balada del adolescente ingenuo and Recitativo y fuga, both composed by Jesús Ortega.

In 2014, Duo Con-Trastes recorded their first album “Contrastes”, an independent production with the collaboration of the Saiz Brother´s Association and the Noruega Embassy in Cuba. She has also recorded with Cuban singer Liuba Maria Hevia under Bis Music label. More recently, in 2018 she recorded the second album “Retratos” with Latinoamerican music.

Frade has performed the premiere of Promenade á l’après-midi for two guitars composed by Ashley Lucero. In 2018 she premiered Concierto para guitarra y orquesta composed by Björn Raithel in the International Guitar Festival of Havana, Cuba. She also played the premiere of Concierto para guitarra y orquesta, Hologramas composed by Ariannys Mariño and Mestizo by Edmundo Vasquez (piece composed specially for her). She has played the first performing in Cuba of Reminiscencias by Marlos Nobre, Concierto No1 para guitarra, Cuarteto de cuerdas by Carl Kohaut, El jardín de Lindaraja composed by Eduardo Morales-Caso and Aquarelle by Sergio Assad. She participated in the national premiere of the Charriot of love, concert and play conducted by the Spanish singer Ana María Ruimonte. She also performed and recorded Enredándonos por gusto by Karlla Suárez, with the cellist Alejandro Martínez.