Raquel Sáenz-Llano

Raquel Sáenz-Llano was born in Medellín, Colombia. She was trained in Classical Music, singing opera, musical theater, lied, xxi century, and experimental music. She debuted as a songwriter on 2013 with her cycle of five acapella songs called Selva Vírgen (Backwoods), creating a style of singing that require an extended vocal range (g3 – Bb7), a management of soft transitions trough the different vocal technics she use; and a sharp consciousness of the lyrics and their dramatic context.

Not wholly satisfied by the narratives behind the music she sang because they were foreign to her culture, legends and traditional tales, she started writing a version of a Hispanic myth called La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) planning to make the story into music. She self-published the First Edition of this novel with songs called The Llorona, la memoria on September 21st of 2019, targeting the bilingual audience of North and South America. Nowadays, she is concluding the composition of the soundtrack of The Llorona, which will be soon released.

 She has performed several premieres by Colombian and English Composers, some of them composed primarily for her voice. Also, she has made social and political contributions singing the National Anthems of Colombia, Puerto Rico, and the USA several times in festivals and the consulates of Colombia in New York, and Miami.

 She has received prizes as a soloist, chamber music, and scholarships as an outstanding scholar and artist.