Gabriela Montero

Gabriela Montero (born 10 May 1970) is a Venezuelan classical pianist.
Life.
Gabriela Montero was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She first played the piano in public when she was five. When she was eight she played with the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra conducted by José Antonio Abreu. She was given a scholarship from the Venezuelan government to study in the USA. When she was twelve she won the Baldwin National Competition and AMSA Young Artist International Piano Competition, performing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
She studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Gabriela has won international prizes including the Bronze Medal at the 13th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1995.
Gabriela has played in recitals all over the world. She is also a very good improviser.
Gabriela played at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on 20 January 2009 together with the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, and clarinetist Anthony McGill. Together they performed "Air and Simple Gifts," a new arrangement by John Williams based on the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts".