For her 10 special performances in Munich, Adele is featuring a Dominican violinist. José Francisco Pérez Colón is currently part of the iconic English singer’s musical ensemble during her concerts at the Munich Messe in Munich, Germany, from Aug. 2 to 31.
“‼️‼️Wow😨‼️‼️ Yesterday I had the opportunity to play the first of 10 shows with @adele in the city of Munich. 🎻❤️,” the Dominican violinist wrote online (Aug. 3). “Super happy to make music with this group of exceptional musicians.” In another post (Aug. 9), he wrote: “🤩🙌🏽‼️ It’s super exciting to be able to share the stage with @adele.”
Pérez Colón was born in the city of San Cristóbal in the Dominican Republic. According to Diario Libre, he started his musical career at 17 at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in DR. He continued his journey at the Universidad Pedro Henríquez Ureña in Santo Domingo, where he auditioned and was ultimately chosen for a music student exchange program in Germany. This led him to complete his Master’s program there. He’s now a graduate of The Hochschule für Musik und Theater of Hamburg, Germany, one of the country’s biggest music universities.
Throughout his career, the violinist has performed in France, Spain, and England. He previously shared that making a name for himself as a musician led to being contacted [by Adele’s team]. In addition to the 10-performance stretch, he also gives music classes to children and young musicians in Germany.
However, his studies came with challenges. He shared with Diario Libre that at the beginning of his musical career, he would try to make his own violins because he didn’t have money to buy them and his parents couldn’t afford them. He also shared that he felt abandoned by his country because he applied for financial help and felt there wasn’t interest in helping him.
Now, it looks like his efforts are paying off – and he wants to share his knowledge with his home country. “I am more Dominican than anyone else and I want to return to my country to offer what I have learned and help other young people have the opportunity I had. I want to show that there are people in my country who really contribute to the culture,” he told the media outlet.
Pérez Colón will continue to be part of Adele’s orchestra for the next performances tonight (Aug. 14), Aug. 16, Aug. 23 to 24, and Aug. 30 to 31.