Carolina Rodriguez de Armas Cello instructor

Carolina Rodriguez de Armas, based in Vermillion, SD, is a passionate musician and instructor who loves working in different ensembles and projects covering a broad range of music from early to contemporary, folk, and jazz. Originally from La Habana, Cuba, she earned her Master of Music’s degree in Cello Performance at the University of South Dakota, under the tutelage of Dr. Sonja Kraus. Carolina served as the Principal Cellist of the USD Symphony Orchestra, as well as a member of the USD Chamber Orchestra. She performed in April of 2024 the first movement of Dmitri Shostakovich’s cello concerto no. 1 in E-flat major with the USD Symphony Orchestra as one of the winners of the USD Concerto Aria Competition. Additionally she was awarded a Fellowship in the 2024 FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy where she received masterclasses from Dr. Jonathan Ruck and Dr. Thomas Loewenheim and performed Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 with the FOOSA Philharmonic at the renowned Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the William Saroyan Theater in Downtown Fresno.

Carolina received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Arts in Cuba as a student of Gladys Lo. Her experience in chamber and symphony orchestras include the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Havana Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daiana García, Música Eterna Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Guido López Gavilán, the Havana Lyceum Orchestra, and Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble, where she also played viola da gamba and violone. Carolina was part of the Cuban European Academy founded by Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Academy in Germany, where she received cello and chamber music master classes from members of the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra, such as Christoph Dangel and Pablo de Pedro. This project also offered her the opportunity of completing a post graduate course in Music Historically Informed. Carolina has participated in national and international festivals such as the Dali Quartet Festival, Habana Clásica, Artes de Cuba Festival at Kennedy Center, Havana Jazz Plaza Festival and Havana Contemporary Music Festival.

She currently serves as a substitute for the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and is also an active member of the Chiaroscuro Cello Quartet and Ensemble Zusammen, both chamber music ensembles consisting of cellists and bassists from the University of South Dakota.