Manuela Weller
About
Manuela Weller was born in Argentina in 1981. She began her academic training at the J.J. Castro Conservatory, where she studied with André Mouroux and Diana Griot. She then continued her studies at the J.P. Esnaola Conservatory with Miriam Santucci and Larisa Orloff. Additionally, she refined her technique privately with José Araujo and Pablo Bercellini.
In parallel, she delved into the study of popular and contemporary cello, exploring extended techniques with Marcelo Katz, Brazilian rhythms applied to strings with Jaques Morelenbaum and Carol Panesi, Argentine rhythms with Ramiro Zarate Gigli, and improvisation tools with Itiberé Zwarg, Sophie Lussi, Marcelo Moguilevsky, Martín Melendez, among others.
As a cellist, she has been involved in numerous musical groups, recording albums, theater and circus shows, silent film soundtracks, and music therapy sessions. She has also composed music for plays and short films.
As an educator, she has been teaching cello for over 20 years, conducting string workshops privately, teaching in schools, working as a teacher for school orchestras, and traveling throughout the country conducting cello seminars.
Teaching Style
I enjoy catering to the specific interests of each individual student and formulating work objectives that combine their interests with their technical needs. Postural work is central to technical study. Additionally, developing listening skills and working with audio and PDF materials are integral parts of distance learning classes. I'm interested in studying the instrument through various popular rhythms, improvisation techniques, and the academic classical study of the instrument.
Curriculum
Dotzauer, Suzuki, Feuillard, Popper, Klengel, Duport, Sevcik, and guidelines for improvisation.
Credentials & Affiliations
From her early academic years, Manuela was also interested in exploring music from a different perspective than classical, always with the desire to expand into other styles and performing arts. This led her to work in various fields. From 2006 to 2009, she was part of the circus and music show called "Sanos y Salvos," directed by Gerardo Hochman. This show was presented at CC Konex and Buenos Aires Design, completing two national tours lasting three months each throughout the country. She also had the opportunity to participate in the International Theater Festival in Venezuela, performing at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas, as well as workshops with Cirque Du Soleil and Mayumana. In Spain (2009), she participated in the Contemporary Music Festival in Huesca.
Later, she joined the Desarmadero Ensemble (2010), a sign language improvisation group led by Marcelo Katz and Marcelo Moguilevsky, with performances in various theaters in Buenos Aires. She also joined the "Camaron" Group (2011), where explorations of sounds, improvisation techniques, and group composition were undertaken under the direction of Marcelo Katz, performing at different festivals in Buenos Aires. She continued her career as a cellist, participating in theater productions with live and recorded music. She composed music for the plays "Matar el padre" by Walter Rozenwitz (2013) and "Distancia de Huída" by Cecila Gil Mariño (2016), both with performances in Buenos Aires. Additionally, she directed and composed music for the experimental short film "Purga" (2020).
In 2019, she participated in a course on Universal Music (Hermeto Pascoal) with Itibere Zwarg, with a presentation at the Usina del Arte. In 2020 and 2023, she attended the Curitiba Popular Music Festival, where she took courses in improvisation and Brazilian rhythms directed by Carol Panesi, Dudu Maia, and Daniel Migliavaca, with performances at the festival and theaters in Curitiba, Brazil. She has consistently participated in recording sessions and has performed as a session musician in concerts (Omar Giammarco, Clara Ballestero, productions with David Bensimon, Karenautas, etc.).
For 8 years, she worked as a musician for therapy sessions. As a teacher, she has been teaching cello for over 20 years, as well as conducting string workshops privately and in schools. She has also worked as a teacher for school orchestras. In 2022, she received a grant from the National Arts Fund, with which she traveled to the province of Chubut to conduct cello workshops, and has since been regularly giving courses in Patagonia.