Maria Mireya Arboleda Cadavid (1928 – February 21, 2021) was a Colombian classical pianist.

Early career and education

Maria Mireya Arboleda Cadavid was born in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia in 1928 to Fernando Arboleda López, the mayor of Palmira and Rosa Cadavid Medina along with five other sisters, Esmeralda, Pubenza, Fabiola, Violeta, and Soffy. Fernando was the mayor of Palmira and Esmeralda became the first female

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in Colombian history. She is cousins with former

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

Mayor Maurice Armitage. Arboleda began studying music when she was 6 years old at the Antonio María Valencia de Cali Conservatory. There, she received her diploma in Higher Studies. She went on to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, a very prestigious music school. At the conservatory, Arboleda received her Title in Music and Artistic Diploma in 1957 under the tutelage of Hungarian pianist Miklos Schwalb. Also in 1957, Arboleda participated in the International Piano Competition in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

which inspired her to move to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and earn a Masters of Piano Studies at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, another very prestigious music school. At the conservatory, Arboleda became the protegé of critically acclaimed pianists such as

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

musician

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and French-

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

musician Vlado Perlemuter. Arboleda's return to Colombia following her studying abroad was "a revelation for those who still doubted women's abilities".

Career

As a concert pianist, Arboleda performed recitals and concerts in international venues such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, The Town Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, and the

Centre for Fine Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or PSK in Dutch. The b ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. She also performed many times in her home-country of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

such as concerts at the

Luis Ángel Arango Library Luis Ángel Arango Library (Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango or BLAA) is a public library located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is one of the largest and most important libraries in the world. It was founded in 1958 as a small library with a few books o ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, and the

León de Greiff Library León de Greiff Library, also known as La Ladera Parque Biblioteca (English: Hillside Library Park), is an architecturally renowned library park in Medellín, Colombia. It is named after the poet Leon de Greiff and designed by architect Gianca ...

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. Arboleda later became a head music

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, Ces ...

, spending around 30 years of her life in teaching altogether.

Personal life

Arboleda was married to Flavio Cruz Domínguez, a lawyer, who later died. The couple had two children, Santiago and José Antonio. On February 21, 2021, Arboleda died at age 92 in Bogotá.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arboleda, Mireya Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia 2021 deaths 1928 births Colombian pianists People from Palmira, Valle del Cauca New England Conservatory alumni Conservatoire de Paris alumni Colombian expatriates in France