Bles Chavez Bernstein
Soprano
Bles started her career very early. At the age of five she won first prize for her dramatic monologue in a literary competition sponsored by a major radio station in the Philippines. At nine, she won first place in both solo and duet categories of a regional interscholastic event in the Philippines. Bles has been singing ever since.
Bles calls herself “the singing poet” as she believes that music and poetry must coexist for her life to be complete. She wrote her first poem at twelve after her English teacher inspired her. She has been writing poetry ever since. At 18, she has won recognition as a poet. Her poem, At Dusk in Paradise, won first place in a poetry writing contest sponsored by the editorial staff of Santa Isabel University newsletter, The Isabelina, after which she became a regular contributor. Without Rhyme, her first book, includes a collection of 100 poems. Bles also writes prose, short stories, essays, and non-fiction. A memoir of her childhood, In The Typhoon’s Eye, is recently published for international distribution.
After her move to the US, she became a regularly featured soloist of the Pan American Society of Artists under the direction of the late Maestro Lawrence Siegel, appearing in concerts and stage productions from 1992 onwards. From 1997 to 2001 Bles took private lessons in classical singing at the Performer’s Music Institute in Miami under the direction of Oscar Diaz Jr. where she gave numerous recitals.
In 2002 Bles was awarded a scholarship in music, major in vocal performance, by the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. In 2006 and 2007 Bles successfully completed The Complete Singer course in Surrey, England, under the direction of Penelope Randall-Davis and Jenny Miller. Bles has a repertoire ranging from Handel and Mozart to Rachmaninoff and Faure as well as American musical theatre and contemporary crossover songs. In 2008, Bles had her debut solo concert, Inspiration, at the Thailand Cultural Center in Bangkok in collaboration with Artist Society to help the underprivileged children in Thailand. Her debut solo performance in South Florida in 2011, Voice of a Poet, was organized to benefit women and children who are victimized by domestic violence under the advocacy of Safespace Foundation. Timeless Serenade, held in Aventura Arts and Cultural Center in South Florida in 2014, was organized to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
In 2017 Bles performed in concert for the American Consulate community in Frankfurt, Germany, to honor spouses of Foreign Service employees. While living in Germany, she was actively involved in promoting artistic, musical, and cultural events. The Cosmopolitan Club of Frankfurt has invited her to sing at its annual Christmas Tea Party in 2016. Her solo performance, ‘The Singing Poet’ in 2018 held at the historical Universidad de Sta. Isabel Auditorium, in Naga City, Philippines, has been her most profound performance yet as an artist, for it was her first homecoming concert.
In addition to her passion for the performing arts, Bles has also devoted many years in the art and vocation of nursing working as a registered nurse in the US. She has extensive experience in two clinical specialties: Mental Health and Addictions nursing. While working as a consultant to UNESCO in 2006-2007, she authored a 100-page health manual on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Pan Pacific Region.
Bles calls herself “the singing poet” as she believes that music and poetry must coexist for her life to be complete. She wrote her first poem at twelve after her English teacher inspired her. She has been writing poetry ever since. At 18, she has won recognition as a poet. Her poem, At Dusk in Paradise, won first place in a poetry writing contest sponsored by the editorial staff of Santa Isabel University newsletter, The Isabelina, after which she became a regular contributor. Without Rhyme, her first book, includes a collection of 100 poems. Bles also writes prose, short stories, essays, and non-fiction. A memoir of her childhood, In The Typhoon’s Eye, is recently published for international distribution.
After her move to the US, she became a regularly featured soloist of the Pan American Society of Artists under the direction of the late Maestro Lawrence Siegel, appearing in concerts and stage productions from 1992 onwards. From 1997 to 2001 Bles took private lessons in classical singing at the Performer’s Music Institute in Miami under the direction of Oscar Diaz Jr. where she gave numerous recitals.
In 2002 Bles was awarded a scholarship in music, major in vocal performance, by the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. In 2006 and 2007 Bles successfully completed The Complete Singer course in Surrey, England, under the direction of Penelope Randall-Davis and Jenny Miller. Bles has a repertoire ranging from Handel and Mozart to Rachmaninoff and Faure as well as American musical theatre and contemporary crossover songs. In 2008, Bles had her debut solo concert, Inspiration, at the Thailand Cultural Center in Bangkok in collaboration with Artist Society to help the underprivileged children in Thailand. Her debut solo performance in South Florida in 2011, Voice of a Poet, was organized to benefit women and children who are victimized by domestic violence under the advocacy of Safespace Foundation. Timeless Serenade, held in Aventura Arts and Cultural Center in South Florida in 2014, was organized to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
In 2017 Bles performed in concert for the American Consulate community in Frankfurt, Germany, to honor spouses of Foreign Service employees. While living in Germany, she was actively involved in promoting artistic, musical, and cultural events. The Cosmopolitan Club of Frankfurt has invited her to sing at its annual Christmas Tea Party in 2016. Her solo performance, ‘The Singing Poet’ in 2018 held at the historical Universidad de Sta. Isabel Auditorium, in Naga City, Philippines, has been her most profound performance yet as an artist, for it was her first homecoming concert.
In addition to her passion for the performing arts, Bles has also devoted many years in the art and vocation of nursing working as a registered nurse in the US. She has extensive experience in two clinical specialties: Mental Health and Addictions nursing. While working as a consultant to UNESCO in 2006-2007, she authored a 100-page health manual on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Pan Pacific Region.