About Catherine
Catherine Yara Aponte
Colombian Violinist, Educator & Performer
Catherine Yara Aponte is a Colombian violinist, educator, performer, and arranger based in San Antonio, Texas. Her work brings together performance, teaching, and educational projects shaped by a musical life that began in Colombia and has continued through professional and academic work in the United States.
Roots in Colombia
Catherine is originally from Ibagué, Colombia, and later continued her musical studies at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. There, performance and education were already closely connected in her work: she performed with the university orchestra while also teaching violin, ear training, and music theory.
In 2015, Catherine was invited to perform with the Colombia Symphony Orchestra. Her Colombian background has remained an important part of her artistic identity, influencing the repertoire she explores, the arrangements she creates, and the perspective she brings to performance and education.
Performance & Education
Catherine continued that combination of performance and education during her graduate studies at Valdosta State University. While completing her Master of Music Performance, she performed with university ensembles and worked closely with the South Georgia String Project, where she taught students, supported undergraduate teachers, and helped shape lesson planning and pedagogy.
Rather than developing along separate paths, performing and teaching became complementary parts of her work. Her experience with students, ensembles, and other educators broadened the way she approached music—not only as something to perform, but also something to communicate, interpret, and share.
Colombian Music in Her Work
Catherine’s connection to Colombian music extends beyond her own background. She has incorporated Colombian and South American repertoire into her performance and educational work, including creating arrangements that make this music more accessible to students and teachers.
That interest reflects a broader part of her approach as a musician: exploring repertoire through its cultural context and finding ways to share it through performance, teaching, and arranging.
On Music and Teaching
- What keeps you interested in both performing and teaching, and how does one influence the way you approach the other?
- When you work with a student, what do you hope they develop beyond simply playing the notes correctly? What makes you feel that a lesson has been successful?
- When you approach a new piece of music, what tends to interest you first? Does your Colombian background influence the way you listen to, interpret, or connect with certain music? If so, how?
- What kind of atmosphere do you try to create when you are teaching, rehearsing, or working with other musicians? What do you think people tend to discover about you once they have worked with you for a while?
Curriculum Vitae
For a complete record of Catherine’s education, performance experience, teaching, appointments, and other professional work, view her curriculum vitae.