The founder

Verena Lucía is a Latinx conductor, composer, pianist, singer, educator and activist.

Born in Berlin, Germany, of Peruvian and Chilean parents. After immigrating to the U.S., Verena began her training in music and dance at the age of four at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD and continued her music and dance studies at the Baltimore School for the Arts, University of Maryland, Alvin Ailey School for Dance, and the Catholic University of America.

Mrs. Anders completed her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Santiago Rodriguez, with a minor in Voice Performance at the University of Maryland. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she studied at the Alvin Ailey School for Dance in New York, while maintaining an active life as a performing musician. While in New York, she sang as a soloist with Baroque ensembles, with the New York Choral Artists, the Tallis Scholars, and as a principal singer at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Verena received her Master’s Degree in Conducting in 2010 from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. under the tutelage of Dr. Leo Nestor.

Verena has previously served as Director of Music at several churches across the country. Mrs. Anders also serves as a Challenge the Stats performing artist, conductor and pianist, has sung with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chamber Chorus, and has served as Teaching Artist with The Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema-based music education program. She has since continued a career conducting choral and orchestral ensembles as well as teaching with special attention to social justice causes and under-represented people in classical music.