A love of music and teaching inspires her world

And with each guitar chord, the sounds of the strings come back to him, the sounds his mother's hands played on those afternoons in Pereira, where the sun wasn't strong enough to burn, but was enough to make him feel the warmth of life, of family, and of the first melodies he learned. This is how the love for music was born in León Fabio Salcedo Ortiz, a professor at the University of Cundinamarca.

Salcedo Ortiz arrived at UCundinamarca in 2011, then traveled to the United States to do his Master's in Guitar Performance at Carnegie Mellon University, but in 2013 he returned and since then he has worked there because of his love for teaching and music, giving his best and accompanying each student to discover music in their feelings.

“I returned to the University because I like the experience, I participated in the competition because I want to continue with the projects and research, I want to continue seeing the students grow and I like the type of education that is handled at UCundinamarca, I believe that it makes one feel part of it,” said the guitarist.

The teacher took office on February 8, 2021, after applying for the position of teacher and coordinator of the Research area, considering that he had the experience and academic training to take on this great challenge, and he also knew the University and it seemed like a great opportunity to continue there.

Talent that is inherited

Leon Fabio learned to play guitar at age 10, when his mother, a Fine Arts student in Pereira, taught him. “Music is something very emotional, I have always liked it and it is something that cannot be described, it is something very natural and when music catches you you can no longer live without it, you don't want to do anything else.”.

After learning from his mother, he enrolled in Fine Arts in Pereira, and that was the beginning of his journey to discovering his passion for music. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from the Technological University of Pereira and a Master's degree in Guitar Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, where he received a scholarship to study guitar with Professor James Ferla.

Little by little his dreams have been coming true and he is currently a PhD candidate in music at the Doctoral Program in Music at the University of Aveiro where he has studied guitar with Professor Pedro Rodrigues and is advancing his doctoral research under the tutelage of Professor Gilvano Dalagna.

Salcedo's main teachers were Martín Pedreira in Cuba and Alejandro Montoya and Guillermo Bocanegra in Colombia.

Between the stage and academia

León Fabio Salcedo has performed as a soloist and member of classical and jazz music groups in Colombia, Europe and the United States, in events and venues such as the XV Girona Guitar Festival – Costa Brava in Spain, the National Museum of Colombia, the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Major Theater, Chattam University, Mellon Institute Auditorium and Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh, Deca Auditorium at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.

He has also received awards and distinctions from Carnegie Mellon University, the Colombian Ministry of Culture, the District University of Bogotá, and the Pereira Institute of Culture.

Salcedo Ortiz is a peer of Colciencias in music and musicology, and has taught at the District University of Bogotá, the Technological University of Pereira, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Cundinamarca.

Teaching and Covid-19

“It hasn’t all been bad; the pandemic and technology-supported classes have helped us learn to use more tools and help each other,” said the teacher, who also cannot deny that musicians have been hurt by this whole situation.

Leon Fabio states that distance has not been the best scenario for teaching music, however, full of enthusiasm he cherishes the best moments he shared with his students and longs for the day he can return to give a face-to-face class, where they have an audience to play a melody.

See their work:

https://soundcloud.com/leonsalcedo

https://leonsalcedo05.wixsite.com/leon-salcedo

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