Camila Cortina Bello

Camila Cortina Bello is a pianist, educator, musicologist and composer. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1988, she has taken the stage in her home country and has performed for audiences around the world. Her music intends to re-imagine the sounds and rhythms of her original Cuban roots through the lens of jazz, classical and world music. She feels like fusion and cross-overs are as intrinsic to her work as to her “mulato” DNA. The memories she carries from her home country play a very important role on her artistic identity, but also the realities that has surrounded her while living away.

In Cuba, Camila collaborated and shared the stage with prestigious musicians such as Joaquín Betancourt, Robertico García, Emir Santa Cruz, and Mayquel González. There, she studied classical piano and theoretical subjects at Manuel Saumell and Amadeo Roldan Conservatoires. In 2010, she graduated with a major in musicology at the Higher Institute of Arts. After her studies, Camila moved to Singapore where she performed as a pianist and music director for different international bands across Asia, including Indonesia and Malaysia. From 2015 to mid-2018 she dedicated her time to teaching while also working actively as a Latin jazz pianist and composer for audiovisual works, mainly related to Cuban culture. She performed at prestigious festivals like Singjazz 2017 (Singapore), Jazz by the Bay (Perth, 2017) and Borneo Jazz Festival (Borneo, 2018).

Camila relocated to Boston in 2018 as a recipient of the Berklee World Tour Full Tuition Scholarship. Four years later, she had accomplished a dual major in Jazz Composition and performance and a Master's in Contemporary Global Performance. 

In 2023, Camila was one of the winners of New Music USA "Next Jazz Legacy Program", designed to support emerging women in jazz. Since then, she has shared stage with Paquito D'Rivera, Miguel Zenon, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dianne Reeves, among many others. She performed at Cape May Jazz Festival (2023), D.C Jazz Festival (2023), Ecuador Jazz Festival (2023) and Festival Internacional de Jazz de Punta del Este (2024) She also released her first EP, "Sonera", currently available in all streaming platforms.