Susana has been playing piano and keyboard since she was 6 years old, and writing music and original songs since she was about 8. She studied classical piano with three different instructors until age 12, the last of which had studied with the eminent Van Cliburn, and competed and placed in piano and music composition competitions as a child and young adolescent.

Susana served as a piano accompanist for various local performances in Pasadena and the Los Angeles area — often creating accompaniment and arrangements by ear from scratch — from ages 12 until 19, and did some arranging, including for a public performance and duet of her original song “Together” in 1988.  She played original and cover songs at a piano bar at the resort Bruin Woods during the summer of 1989.  She cut a demo of her original songs in 1990, but abandoned attempts to shop the demo in Los Angeles to pursue academics in Mexico City.

In singing, Susana considers herself most juicy as an alto or contralto, but she has a three-octave range (C3 – C6) that includes tenor and soprano ranges.  She is fluent in Spanish and sings in Spanish as well as English.  She studied voice with Kent Burke in Pasadena in the 1980s, and currently studies with Elena Maietta in Albuquerque. She also sang with the Sacramento Gospel Choir in the mid 1990s. She has a versatile style, but especially enjoys singing R&B, blue-eyed soul, pop, and heartfelt ballads.

Susana still plays her piano and occasionally works on covers (artists ranging from Corinne Bailey Rae, Rihanna, and Bruno Mars to Anna Nalick, Sheryl Crow and the Backstreet Boys!) and messes around with her original pieces. She’d love to join a soulful a capella group, or maybe jam with some folks.

Stay tuned… but in the meantime check out some of her older original songs on SoundCloud!