Camila Cortina Bello

Currently based in New Jersey, Camila Cortina Bello is a Cuban-born pianist, composer, educator, and musicologist whose work bridges jazz, classical, and Afro-Cuban traditions. She trained in classical piano at the Manuel Saumell and Amadeo Roldán Conservatories and earned a degree in musicology from the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. In Cuba, she performed with artists Joaquín Betancourt, Robertico García, Emir Santa Cruz, and Mayquel González, among others.

Cortina Bello later moved to Singapore, where she worked as a pianist and music director, in addition to composing for audiovisual projects rooted in Cuban culture. In 2018, she was awarded Berklee College's World Tour Full Tuition Scholarship and went on to earn a dual degree in Jazz Composition and Performance, followed by a masters in Contemporary Global Performance.

In 2023, she was named a Next Jazz Legacy Fellow, a New Music USA initiative supporting emerging women in jazz. She has since performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Miguel Zenón, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Dianne Reeves, with appearances at the Cape May, D.C., Ecuador, and Punta del Este jazz festivals. She also released her debut EP, Sonera. Recent highlights include a solo piano commission, Bravura, which premiered at the Barbican Centre (London, 2024), and an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert with the Afro-Cuban band OKAN.