Maria Paula Casas is a Colombian cellist currently in her second year of the Master of Music program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), where she studies under the mentorship of Professor Brooks Whitehouse.
She began her musical education in Ibagué, Colombia, at both the Allegro Casa Musical Academy and the Conservatory of Ibagué. She later moved to Bogotá to pursue her undergraduate studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, graduating in 2022 as a student of Iván León, cellist of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia.
In January 2023, Maria Paula completed a diploma in chamber music through a joint program between the University of Cartagena and the Conservatory of Bologna in Italy. As a member of both the Obregón and Atula String Quartets, she has participated in Bogotá’s Festiquartetos (2018 and 2022) and the Cartagena International Music Festival (2022 and 2023).
Her international experience includes performances with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s Premier Orchestra in 2013 and 2014, as well as participation in FestivalSouth, an interdisciplinary arts celebration hosted by the Hattiesburg Concert Association, in 2014 and 2015. In 2023, she joined the Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal.
Maria Paula was also selected as a winner of the 2024 Young Performers Series competition organized by Banco de la República, which led to her solo recital at the Sala de Conciertos de la Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango in August.
An active orchestral and outreach musician, she has been a member of both the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia and the Bogotá Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. With these ensembles, she has taught and performed throughout Colombia, as well as on international tours to Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy.