Jorge Vera: Sharing Music Comes Full Circle

He calls himself a “late bloomer” because most children begin playing at age 3 or 4. Content to work on the family farm, Jorge Vera didn’t realize the world of music awaited.

Growing up in Pirayú, a tiny farming community in Paraguay, Vera spent his free time like most 9-year-olds — with friends. To do that, he tagged along to their violin classes, where 40 students shared the nine instruments their village could afford.

Waiting his turn for the violin didn’t deter Vera. Long after his friends moved on from lessons, he continued to play. At the time, he and his fellow students focused on learning and playing folk music. At 15 he decided to begin classical music studies and improve his technique. He traveled three hours to attend hour-long lessons from a university professor, José Miranda, in Asunción, Paraguay’s capital city. 

Soon, Vera will have his own opportunity to change the lives of young musicians, as he steps into a full-time position in the Allentown Symphony Association, where he will play in the orchestra and teach members of its youth orchestra. 

In 2024, Vera completed his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University, for which he earned a full scholarship. This May, he will earn his certificate in advanced music studies in violin performance. 

“I am excited to start a new chapter after great years learning from my mentors at CMU,” he said. “Music was the tool that gave me the opportunity to live a better life. And I want more children to experience that.” 

His parents had only an elementary education, and when he decided to play violin, they weren’t sure about how he would make a career as a musician. Early on, he showed them how he could do it.

When he was a freshman undergraduate in Paraguay, he was one of three students chosen to do a European music tour. That led to a stint teaching students at age 18, and he created a string orchestra in his hometown. 

Teaching, he said, reinforced his love of music.

“I realized I had a bigger purpose,” he said. “Through teaching, I can see the positive impact that music can make in our society.”

After Vera won a full ride to CMU’s School of Music to earn his master’s degree, he had to find a way to get to Pittsburgh. Ever resourceful, he turned to fundraising so that he could afford the plane ticket. With him, he carried his violin and one suitcase.

“Many people have helped me along the way,” Vera said. “I arrived to the university with a $200 violin, and thanks to donors to School of Music, currently I am playing a loaned violin that allowed me to complete my music program. I feel it’s very important to me to thank those donors.”

This academic year, Vera decided to stay at Carnegie Mellon and earn his performance certificate. He is a member of the Honors Quartet and the CMU Philharmonic. He also is a “very grateful” former recipient of the Gindroz Prize(opens in new window), which allowed him to travel abroad as part of his learning experience.  

During this semester, faculty member William van der Sloot(opens in new window) — Vera’s instructor during his three years at Carnegie Mellon — sent him the Allentown Orchestra job description with a note: “This is you.” Vera applied. 

He immediately saw parallels between his own experience as a child and the Allentown Youth Orchestra musicians. Many of them, Vera said, are from underserved communities. 

“I could relate to these children because of where I came from,” he said. “They can say with music what they cannot say with words. The Allentown Symphony Orchestra is dedicated to helping these children, and I wanted the role because it wasn’t just a job — it was THE job.”

He learned he got the position during a break in a Philharmonic rehearsal. His first call was to van der Sloot; his second was to his family. His parents were “shocked and proud,” he said, and many former students sent congratulations. He has stayed in touch with those students, now grown, and he is happy he played a part in giving them art in their lives.

“Some of my former students are now doctors, and I saw how music humanized them,” he said. “It makes people kinder. Art helps you to follow your own path and helps you to find who you are and what you believe in.”

At the end of August, he will share the arts with a new generation of students, something he is looking forward to doing.

“I want to encourage people like me to never give up. People can do whatever they dream is possible.”