Former Principal Clarinetist with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Carmen
Borregales is a Venezuelan clarinetist educated in the internationally renowned music
program EL SISTEMA. Beginning her music studies in her hometown of Coro at the age
of eight, she pursued further study at the Latin American Clarinet Academy, in Caracas,
under prominent clarinetists Valdemar Rodríguez, Edgar Pronio, Jorge Montilla, Luis
Rossi, Henry Crespo and Gregory Parra.
Borregales has enriched her musical prowess through masterclasses with international
maestros and soloists, including Alain Damiens, Thomas Friedli, Eddy Vanoosthuyse,
Michel Arrignon, Walter Seyfarth, Alessandro Carbonare, Philippe Cuper, Charles
Neidich and others. In addition to the ICA 2004 Young Artists Competition (Maryland,
USA), she has successfully qualified for competitions under the World Federation of
International Music Competitions, including the Geneva International Music
Competition 2007, the ARD Music Competition Munich 2008 and the Carl Nielsen
International Music Competition 2009. As an orchestral player, she has worked with
prestigious conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jesús López
Cobos, Giancarlo Guerrero, Alondra de la Parra, Bruno Mantovani, Rafael Payare and
Diego Matheuz.
“An artist with an outstanding musical command,” Borregales has built an
extraordinary career as an educator. In Venezuela, she taught for over a decade at the
Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music (2003–2016) and the Latin American Clarinet
Academy (2006–2016). Borregales has taught and performed at international festivals and
music schools in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Uruguay, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Belgium
and the United States. She has given numerous virtual presentations on clarinet
performance, including in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Panama.
Borregales studied with clarinet maker and soloist Luis Rossi to earn a Master’s
Degree in clarinet performance from the Simón Bolívar University. In 2023, she received
her DMA in music performance from the University of South Carolina under the
guidance of Joseph Eller. In her Doctoral Dissertation, she introduced a comprehensive
method for clarinet, “12 Etudes for Clarinet in Venezuelan Style,” based on music genres
from Venezuela’s popular music of traditional roots. Borregales is also an artist
representative for Buffet Crampon and Gonzalez Reeds, a Rovner ambassador, a teaching
artist at the Houston Youth Symphony Chamber Music and Youth Orchestra Program,
and Affiliate Artist Faculty in Clarinet at the University of Houston. Important
collaborations in the United States include the Houston Symphony, Classical Music
Institute, the Orchestra San Antonio, New Jersey Symphony, South Carolina
Philharmonic, the Monarch Chamber Players, Vela Ensemble, Texas New Music
Ensemble and Nu Deco Ensemble. For further information, visit this page.
- DMA (Performance), University of South Carolina (2023), Columbia, SC
- MM (Performance) Simón Bolívar University (2012), Caracas, Venezuela
- BA (Modern Languages), Metropolitan University (2005), Caracas, Venezuela