(español)

Erika Colon was born in Venezuela. Following her studies at the Sacred Heart University in Tokyo, she completed her Master’s degree with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2009. The same year, Erika made her debut at the prestigious Wigmore Hall as a finalist of the Jackdaws Great Elm award. Her recent engagements as a soloist includes Mozart Festival in Brussels, “Requiem” by Mozart for Sacred Music Festival in Florence, Haydnʼs “Creation” and “Nelson Mass” in Cyprus and Handelʼs “Messiah” for the Japan-U. K. 150th Anniversary Concert in London. On the Opera stage, she has performed Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Norina (Don Pasquale), Marie (La fille du Regiment), and the title role of Venus (La Purpura de la Rosa) by Torrejon in the Baroque Music Festival, in Privas, which was broadcasted by Radio France. Her performance was critically acclaimed in the world premiere of Dream Journey by Dmitri Smirnov on the settings of 17 Haiku by Matsuo Basho as well as in DODOITSU by Marie Scibor, with the poems by Paul Claudel. Erika has performed with distinguished musicians such as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Kent Nagano and Joan Baez. She is committed to performing the "Ave Maria for the Bombed Virgin of Nagasaki" composed by her father, Eric Colon, as a message of peace. Erika has recorded an exclusive CD of the Ave Maria and was subsequently invited to perform in the Temple of the Great Buddha in Nara (Todaiji), the Nagasaki Urakami cathedral, Ground Zero, NY along with other numerous venues. Her versatile talents appear on TV, recordings, the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics in Nagano (2005), and singing the Venezuelan national anthem for diverse sports events. In 2014, Erika made her operatic debut in Japan as Soeur Constance in Dialogue de Carmelites. In 2015 Erika participated in the 15 cities tour of the production Le Nozze di Figaro, directed by Hideki Noda and conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue. She has performed in numerous International Music Festivals including La Folle Journee, the Nippon International Music Festival, thus acquiring an important artistic reputation. She serves as the Special Advisor of El Sistema Japan and while appearing in various platforms as a concert soloist, she is focusing on Social Benefit Programs through Music. She has established the first Diplomat's Choir in Japan and is currently coaching a newly created White Hands Chorus in Tokyo, designed for deaf children as part of an El Sistema Special Program.