CV
2021 July
Jury member The Dias Latinos Awards in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Produced by Lucas van Merwijk
2021
concert with the METROPOLIS ORQUESTA | Holland Hilversum
2019
Tour in duo with Aquiles Báez and 4tt in Italy with concerts in Naples, Rimini and Padova .
2018
Concert with KIMBIZA Big Band | Caracas, Venezuela
T ournee with the CUBOP CITY Big Band in the Netherlands at jazz in Duketown, Den Bosch, Amstelven, Baarn, Groningen and the Spijkenisse Festival.
concert with the MAMBÍSIMO Big Band at the Jazz Festival Belgium
2020 preparations for the new CD for the 25th anniversary of the "CUBOP CITY Big Band" from Holland, the new CD with the Big Band MAMBÍSIMO from Luxembourg as well as recordings and videos with the new trio with pianist Thomas Böttcher and percussionist Renis Mendoza.
2011-2017
Lecturer in the private "Music Academy", Neuss | Cello and vocals
2016
Appearances with the WDR Big Band in the "LATIN NIGHT" in Leverkusen, the Philharmonie Cologne and Essen.
Performances and CD recording with the CUBOP CITY Band with the program “Earth, Wind and Fire Latino”
2017 Appearance as cellist with SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart for the PORSCHE presentation of a new vehicle
2014
Appearance with the RTL All Star Band with José Feliciano (singer from Puerto Rico) and Nelly Furtado (singer from Portugal)
Concert with KIMBIZA Big Band in Caracas / Venezuela
Appearance as a singer at the Classic Open Air Berlin in the program “CLASSIC LADIES” as well as with the "Conexión Latina" band and the "Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg" in the program "Desire for Salsa".
2012
She undertook a tour in a duo with Aquiles Báez with 15 concerts in the “ Klangkosmos NRW ” . Concerts with the band Perfektomat by Joscha Oetz and 4tt and appearance at the "Classic Open Air Gendarmenmarkt" festival with the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau under the direction of Stefan Diederich. Appearance as guest singer in the show "DIE FANTASTISCHEN VIER MTV UNPLUGGED II" and CD recording.
BIOGRAPHY
The music that Yma América plays and sings comes from South America, from Venezuela to Argentina. The Venezuela-born singer and cellist masters her program with great intensity and virtuosity. She plays traditional repertoire and her own compositions as well as well-known Latin American songs in new arrangements.
Yma América is one of the most sought-after female Latin voices in Europe. Her clear, pure and yet powerful singing floats as if carried by the wind above the sounds of the “Cuatro”, the small, four-stringed Venezuelan guitar. She has found her own sound in playing the cello.
Yma América first studied cello at the Conservatory of Music in Caracas. From 1975 to 1986 she was a permanent cellist in the famous "Orchester Nacional Juvenil Simon Bolivar", which was celebrated worldwide as an impressive example of Venezuelan music education, the "El Sistema". From 1986 to 1990 she continued her cello studies in Paris at the “Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris” and then from 1991 to 1995 she also studied singing and composition at the World Music Conservatory CODARTS in Rotterdam. As a soloist she appeared regularly with the “Philharmonical Orchestra of Caracas” and the “Symphonic Venezuela” conducted by Jose Antonio Abreu, Aldemaro Romero, Carlos Riazuelo, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich.
Since 1994, Yma América has been the voice of the Cubop City Big Band (Holland) under the direction of the drummer Lucas van Merwijk, the only big band for Latin American music in Europe and the best in the world with an all-star line-up, the excellent and longstanding Latin American musicians such as Alfredo 'Chocolate' Armenteros, Armando Peraza, Luis Conte, Andy Gonzalez, Nelson Gonzalez, Edy Martínez, Robert Quintero and Edmar Castañeda.
She is active all over Europe as a singer, musician, lyricist, arranger and composer. I.a. She composed and sang the song "Juegalo" for the Bacardi commercial, which became a summer hit in 1998 and 2000. In summer 2004 she won the first prize in the international competition 'Voz y Guitarra' in Saarbrücken / Germany in a duo with the Colombian guitarist Andres Mendoza Villamil.
She made countless recordings in Europe and Latin America: CDs, radio recordings and for TV with the bands Kimbiza, Latin Sampling, Francisco Zumaqué, Conexión Latina, Maipú - Misa Criolla, Mirta & The Goalgetters, Duo Ymaya, among others. She sang in the musical "The Lion King", with the WDR Bigband in the title role of the Lilipuz children's concert "The Clever Mama Sambona". She has performed at important classical, jazz and world music festivals, including the Guitar Festival Ruhr 2005, Creole NRW 2006, North Sea Jazz Festival 2008, RuhrTriennale 2008, MusikTriennale Cologne 2010, Elblandfestspiele 2010.
Since 2010, Yma América has been the black voice in the annual extensive fundrising tours and events of the Reiner Meutsch Foundation FLY & HELP , which collects donations for the construction of new schools in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Since then she has performed over 300 gigs in Germany, Namibia, the Dominican Republic and on cruises. On these tours and performances she is with popular singers such as Marianne & Michael, Claudia Jung, Roberto Blanco, Heino, Michael Hirte, Anne-Maria Zimmermann, Klaus & Klaus, Oli P., Michael Holm, Rossane Rocci, Goofi Foster, Peter Maffay and many others.
In January 2011, a detailed portrait of her in the ARD music documentary "global local - forays through a new music scene in Cologne" was broadcast on WDR TV.
As a soloist she is represented in various productions such as:
-CUBOP CITY BIG BAND & Lucas van Merwijk (Holland): "The Machito Project" - "Moré & More" - "Live in The Hague" - "Arsenio" - "Latin Vocal explosion" - "Star" Earth, Wind and Fire Latino.
-Conexión Latina (Germany) "La conexión" - "Mambo Nights"
-Compilation "Salsa Party"
-Chocolate com Laranja (Brazil Music) "Texturas"
- Martin Verdonk (Holland) "Tribal Fusion"
-Francisco Zumaqué (Germany / Colombia) "Voces Caribe"
-Camer, Cameroon "Mini Mini"
-Maipú, South America / Germany "Misa Criolla"
-Naty y su Charanga (Venezuela) "A base de Salsa"
-Bacardi production (Germany) "Juégalo"
-SEAT Production (Spain) "Feel the Heat"
-Percy & Wicked (Germany) "Rock Music"
-Laser Light Compilation (Germany) "Cuba"
-Mandingo y su familia (Germany) "Music from South América"
-KIMBIZA (Venezuela / Germany) "Patata con Salsa"
-Mirta & Goalgetters (Germany) "With influence"
-Duo YMAYA (Germany) "Canciones Latinoamericanas"
-Bruno Böhmer Camacho Trío (Columbia / Germany) "Herencias"
-Marco Toro Ensamble (Holland) "Seguimos Cosechando"
-Die Fantastischen Vier (Germany) "MTV UNPLUGGED II"
-Grupo MADERA (Vzla) "Venezuela"
Among others as a background singer.