Biography

Praised for her “soulful bandoneon” (Washington Classical Review), Heyni Solera is a sought-after bandoneon player based in Washington, D.C. Heyni has enjoyed a career in the US and abroad, performing in Argentina, Canada and Australia collaborating with leading musicians in the tango music scene. She has performed with Julián Peralta, Ramiro Boero, Pablo Jaurena, Adrián Enríquez, Ramiro Gallo, Santiago Segret, the Orquesta de Tango de la UNA, the “Manuel de Falla” Superior Conservatory, and many more.

Heyni is part of the cello/bandoneon duo, Arco & Aire, with cellist Maxfield Wollam-Fisher. Arco & Aire’s 2021 EP, “Overture,” won the Best Latin Song at the 2022 Wammie Awards for the track “La Bordona,” which was arranged by Heyni Solera. Heyni is also the other half of the Ávalos Solera Bandoneón Duo. In 2022, they released the album, “Bach en Bandoneón,” which pays tribute to the great composer. Heyni is the bandoneonist for Solidaridad Tango Orquesta, which focuses on female tango musicians in a genre generally dominated by men.

As an academic, she received her Master of Music in Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has developed the lectures, “A GPS for Tango Listening: What makes tango a tango?” and “Today’s Women in Tango: Carving Out Spaces,” among others.

Previous projects include playing with the orchestra in the acclaimed IN Series production of Le Cabaret de Carmen at the Source Theater in Washington, D.C. and at the Baltimore Theater Project in Baltimore, Maryland. She recently performed at the Kennedy Center with the PanAmerican Symphony Orchestra. She also creates various content such as “Today’s Tango with Heyni”, a miniseries featuring contemporary tango musicians from around the world, “Discovering Troilo”, a miniseries that delves into the iconic style of Aníbal Troilo’s tango orchestra, and collaborates with various dancers from tango in the Washington, DC area.