Dr. Saraí Aboites Nuñez didn’t have the traditional start in classical music.
While many professional orchestra performers typically begin training at a very young age, she says she didn’t touch a violin until she was 17, after taking lessons in recorder, guitar, choir, and piano. However, Aboites Nuñez says she showed an appreciation for music even as a baby, and her grandfather loved to listen to opera and salsa music. “My parents used to tell me that the first thing when I first started moving, it was because of music,” she says. “And there was always music around me.”
She says she was drawn to orchestral instruments from her love of rock bands inspired by classical music, like Rasputina and Apocalyptica, that she listened to growing up as a teenager in Hermosillo, Mexico. Her first lesson came from a friend, who offered her tutorials during recess in exchange for cans of Coca-Cola.
“From there, I was like, ‘Oh, I think I like this,’” Aboites Nuñez recalls. After high school, she picked up the viola, an instrument similar to the violin with a deeper sound.
Her career has since taken her to Michigan, where she has performed with organizations including the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, as well as others in Lansing, Traverse City, Jackson, and Midland. Her work has also taken her across the United States and Mexico, where she has appeared with professional orchestras and ensembles in both countries. In addition to her performances, she has earned recognition for her leadership in music education and her contributions to nationally regarded programs serving young artists.
She was recently promoted to education manager for the Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based nonprofit recognized nationally, that promotes diversity in classical music by teaching Black and Latino youths.
In March, an ensemble of young performers led by Aboites Nuñez called Violines Cromáticos will head to New York City to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. The group started several years ago as an afterschool program at Southwest Detroit’s Cesar Chavez Academy with students as young as eight years old.
Dr. Ana Abrantes, director of education at the Sphinx Organization, praises Aboites Nuñez for her “deep commitment to equitable music education.”
“Saraí is an exceptional arts leader and an essential partner in advancing the work of both the Overture and the Sphinx Performance Academy programs, playing a critical role in advancing local and nationally recognized programs for gifted young musicians,” she says, adding, “She has distinguished herself as an indispensable member of our team, strengthening program operations, supporting teaching artists, and mentoring our students. We are thrilled to have her in this leadership role and excited for the impact she will continue to make!”
Aboites Nuñez says she aims to achieve a balance between teaching and performing, adding that working with youths from minority backgrounds is particularly rewarding for her. She says she aims to demystify classical music by meeting her students where they’re at by referencing music from their own cultures.
“This is a way to make music more organic, more natural to your lifestyle, rather than something that is apart,” she says. “For some people, classical music can be something foreign, elitist, or difficult to understand. But I think a lot of orchestras and musicians today are trying to curate programs that are more accessible, and that resonate with the audiences.”
She adds, “Some of them are first-generation born here of parents that migrated to the States. Every culture has weaknesses and strengths, so why can’t we use those things in our favor? It’s something that I’m trying to explore.”