Teresita Gómez | |
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 Teresita Gómez | |
| Born | Maria Teresa Gómez Arteaga 9 May 1943 Medellín, Colombia |
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| Years active | 1952–present |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
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Teresita Gómez (born Maria Teresa Gómez Arteaga; 9 May 1943) is a colombian pianist and teacher. She is considered one of the most recognized pianists in Colombia.[1]
Early life
editMaría Teresa Gómez Arteaga was born on May 9, 1943, in Medellín, the adopted daughter of Valerio Gómez and María Teresa Arteaga, a middle-class couple from a small town in Antioquia, Marinilla. She was left in the care of the medical staff at the San Vicente de Paúl University Hospital after her biological mother, María Cristina González, who was 18 years old at the time, didn't feel capable of raising her. Gómez has Afro-Colombian heritage on her biological mother's side.[2]
Her early life in Medellín was influenced by a strong musical environment, her father, who worked as a caretaker at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a well-known music conservatory. This proximity meant they lived very close to the classrooms, where they constantly heard students playing instruments. By the age of 4, Gómez was already playing the piano, thanks to her early musical ear. She would memorize melodies and practice at night when there were no officials or students in the institute.[3] One day, a piano teacher, Marta Agudelo de Maya, discovered her talent, and Gómez began receiving formal piano lessons from her, and from another pianist, Anna María Penella, in Medellín. At the age of 10, María Teresa Gómez gave her first piano recital.
Career
edit1959–1987: Education and life in Europe
editIn 1959, Teresita began her higher piano studies at the University of Antioquia and the National University of Colombia, where she graduated from the former as a concert pianist with the distinction of summa cum laude in 1966. She had the privilege of receiving lessons from the Russian pianist Tatiana Goncharova, the German pianist Hilde Adler, and the Colombian-Dutch pianist Harold Martina. Between 1971 and 1972, she was part of the Medellín Opera, and from 1975 to 1981 in the Opera of Colombia.
In the early eighties, Gómez was arbitrarily detained without evidence for twenty days by the Colombian Government after a cultural exchange trip to Cuba. She was suspected of being affiliated with the now-extinct M-19 guerrilla group. During this trip, she met Pablo Milanés. Later, from 1982 to 1987, during the administration of Belisario Betancur, she was sent as a cultural attaché to the Embassy of Colombia in the former German Democratic Republic. From there, she promoted the lives and works of prominent Colombian composers and shared spaces with renowned musicians like Jean Pierre Rampal, Paul Tortelier, and Ruggiero Ricci. During that time, she also studied with Barbara Hesse in Warsaw, Jakob Lateiner in Weimar, and Klaus Bässler in Berlin.
1987–present: Teaching and national success
editUpon returning to Colombia, she began working as a piano teacher at the University of Antioquia and other institutions in Colombia, a role she continues to hold to this day. As a musician, she remains a concert pianist and collaborates in chamber ensembles, such as an instrumental duo with the bandolim player Jairo Rincón Gómez and her ongoing partnership with Colombian tenor Diver Higuita Bustamante. With Diver Higuita, she has promoted the vocal works of Colombian composers such as Antonio María Valencia, Gustavo Yepes, José Rozo Contreras, Jaime León, among others, both in Colombia and in Europe.
In 2017, she commemorated her 60-year artistic career with an emotional concert at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá. On August 7, 2022, she was invited to perform "Hacia el Calvario" by maestro Carlos Vieco and the Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 solo during the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony of Gustavo Petro on August 7, 2022.
Legacy
editAs a tribute in 2005, she was awarded the Cross of the Order of Boyacá in the rank of Commander by the Government of Colombia for her artistic career, contribution to musical culture, and honorable representation of Colombia abroad.
In June 2017, in honor of her sixty-year career, she received two recognitions. The first was from the University of Antioquia, where she was granted a special recognition for her life's work. The second came from the Government of Antioquia, which bestowed upon her the "Juan del Corral" award in the Gold category for her musical contribution and artistic life over six decades of her career. In July 2023, alongside her colleague Blanca Uribe, the Universidad Simón Bolívar, the Universidad del Atlántico, and the Municipality of Barranquilla paid tribute to her and presented her with distinctions for her career.
Education
editTeresita Gomez was born in Medellin, Colombia and began her piano training at the age of 4 with the teachers Marta Agudelo de Maya and Anna María Penella in the Institute of Fine Arts of Medellín, where she gave her first solo concert when she was only 10 years old.
Teresita studied piano at the National University of Colombia with the Russian pianist Tatiana Goncharova and the German pianist Hilde Adler between 1959 and 1962. Later on she was a student of the Colombian-Dutch pianist Harold Martina at the University of Antioquia between 1964 and 1966, where she graduated summa cum laude as Concertmaster and Piano Teacher.[4]
Among her mentors are Barbara Hesse (Varsovia, 1985), Jakob Lateiner (Weimar 1986) and Klaus Bässler (Berlín, 1986–87).
Awards
editIn 2005, the government of Colombia grants her the Cross of Orden de Boyacá in the degree of Comendador for her artistic career, contribution to the musical culture and honorable representation of Colombia abroad.[5]
In 2017, the Antioquia Governor awarded Juan del Corral in the gold category categoría, for her musical contributions over 60 years as a professional pianist.
Discography
edit- Teresa Gómez a Colombia (RTI/Discos Orbe, 1983)
- Teresa Gómez (Caribu Internacional, 1996)
- Teresita Gómez (Universidad de Antioquia, 1997)
- Para Recordar (Discos Fuentes/Universidad de Antioquia, 2000)
- Intimo (Alcaldía de Medellín, 2006)
- Antología I (ColMusica, 2007)
- Trilogía (Self-publishing, 2018)
References
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