Ana Abrantes

A native of Campos do Jordão, Brazil, Dr. Ana Abrantes serves as Director of Education for the Sphinx Organization overseeing the Overture Program, which serves elementary school students throughout Detroit and Flint, and the Sphinx Performance Academy, in partnership with the Curtis and Cleveland Institutes of Music and the Juilliard School.

Before joining the Sphinx Organization, Ana was the Curriculum Director for the Heifetz Institute’s acclaimed HeifetzPEG program, and she also served as Operations Manager handling the daily office and Heifetz On Tour operations year-round.

As an avid educator, Ana Abrantes is a Suzuki certified cello teacher and uses their philosophy – Every Child Can! – as the basis for her teaching method. In Georgia, Ana was the Suzuki Cello Instructor at the UGA Community Music School and at the Newton County Youth Strings program.

Ana Abrantes has performed across the United States and Brazil. She was a core member of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra (MS), Macon Symphony Orchestra (GA), and principal cello of the Athens Symphony Orchestra (GA). At the University of Georgia, Ana served as principal cellist of the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, a distinguished ensemble founded by Levon Ambartsumian in 1989. With ARCO, Ana has recorded a DVD during its 2015 tour through Brazil, and she is also featured as cello soloist in Efrem Podgaits’ CD, String Fairy Tale, under the Art Classics label.

Ana graduated with Honors from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance, and she also earned degrees from the University of Georgia: Master of Music in cello performance and Doctor of Musical Arts with a minor in music theory.