Gabriela Montero is an internationally acclaimed Venezuelan pianist and composer. Montero’s journey of creative dissent began in 2011 with her first orchestral composition, “Ex Patria,” a tone poem designed to illustrate and protest Venezuela’s descent into lawlessness, corruption, and violence. Her recording of the work won a Latin Grammy® for Best Classical Album in 2015. Further compositions followed, including the “Latin Concerto” (2016), “Babel” (2018), and “Canaima; a Quintet for piano and Strings” (2024).

Winner of the 4th International Beethoven Award, Montero is a committed human rights advocate whose voice regularly reaches beyond the concert hall. She was named an Honorary Consul by Amnesty International in 2015. In January 2020, she was invited to give the Dean’s Lecture on creative dissent at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute and has spoken and performed twice at the World Economic Forum in Davos. She was awarded the 2012 Rockefeller Award for her contribution to the arts and was a featured performer at Barack Obama’s 2009 Presidential Inauguration.