Dr. Adalberto Yanes began working as a teacher in 2003 when the music room was only a couple of chairs and a piano. He asked for keyboards and risers, made a drumline, and hired more teachers, and that is how the music program began. 

     When he arrived, the theatre department had existed for two years and they later added the art, dance, and music courses, so they mostly began together. There was no such thing as a performing arts program, these courses were simply electives. “I slowly started to build the programs after school with a chorus club, and that club became my advanced group,” Yanes explains. The official performing arts school began in 2006, and it has exponentially grown since. “We are well prepared, especially the students, for careers and the arts once they leave our school,” Yanes explains, “…every year it grows more and more students want to be part of the performing arts so we’re very happy about that.”

     Dr. Yanes has never stopped pursuing his own education, as he currently holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami, a Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from Florida International University. He has also received further education abroad in France and the Netherlands. “I started as a pianist, and then I continued as a singer, and conductor, and finally, as a composer, so there is a lot to study and a lot to know to be able to express myself and those different genres.” He was able to do so by receiving full scholarships to several institutions as well as constantly receiving his mother’s support.

“I took advantage of it because I had a talent for it and a passion for it.”

     His passion has taken him abroad several times, one being to Salzburg, where he had the chance to visit Mozart’s birthplace. The next day, in Vienna, he visited Mozart’s last apartment, where Yanes was able to fully take in the powerful locations he had visited. He hopes to return this summer when he goes back to Vienna with his student traveling group.

     Ever since he was young, he would sit and improvise on the piano. Once his bachelor’s teacher suggested he should start composing, he did. During previous years when he had more time, he found inspiration through book titles, nature, and quiet walks. “There’s a lot of work and detail and theoretical aspects that go into composing besides just inspiration. So it’s a combination of everything that makes a piece exist,” he emphasized.

     As a composer, one of his most memorable moments has been when Louis Andriessen, Dutch composer and pianist, offered him an opportunity to study with him at a conservatory in Amsterdam after watching Yanes perform. Although he was not able to complete the full year due to personal reasons, he is eternally grateful for the opportunity. 

     Constantly trying to better himself and his program, Dr. Yanes puts in the most effort he can to be able to help students succeed. “The students get motivated and they see how we all work towards a cause and how wonderful it is to achieve something we thought unachievable,” he expresses, “In turn, it inspires the audience members. When we sing so beautifully and everything really settles in a quiet moment and you hear a beautiful sonority and a beautiful chord, and it really inspires the audience.”

“Over the years, as you know, we need to build 100% every year. But I think though we already know what we need to do, and I have a group of dedicated students that year to year, help me and help us achieve wonderful things. I am so blessed.” 

     Yanes’ future plans include a men’s chorus, an acapella group, and international concerts and competitions. “We see ourselves traveling competing and growing as a school,” he elaborates, “not only through music but through all the arts.”