Carolina Rodriguez de Armas Cello instructor

Carolina Rodríguez de Armas is a Cuban cellist and educator based in Vermillion, South Dakota. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of the Arts in Cuba and later completed her Master of Music in Cello Performance at the University of South Dakota under the guidance of Dr. Sonja Kraus. During her graduate studies, she served as Principal Cellist of the USD Symphony Orchestra and appeared as a winner of the 2024 USD Concerto Aria Competition. Carolina’s performance experience spans many different ensembles, covering a broad range of music from early to contemporary, folk, classical, and jazz. She has performed with organizations including the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Curious Music Collective, Havana Chamber Orchestra, Havana Lyceum Orchestra, and Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble, where she also played viola da gamba and violone. Her international training includes participation in the Cuban Academy and the Balthasar Neumann Academy in Germany, where she studied chamber music and Historically Informed Performance. She has also participated in festivals such as the Dali Quartet Festival, Habana Clásica, the Havana Jazz Plaza Festival, and the Artes de Cuba Festival at the Kennedy Center. In 2024, she received a Fellowship with the FOOSA Festival/Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy, where she received masterclasses and participated with the FOOSA Philharmonic at the renowned Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. That same year, she was awarded the Single Program Instrument Grant Award by the Flatiron Luthier Cooperative in Omaha and was granted the use of the Andre Carruthers 2018 Santa California cello from the FLC collection.
In 2026, Carolina co-founded the Popplers Chamber Music Program; a welcoming opportunity for students of all ages and experience levels to learn, collaborate, and perform chamber music in an encouraging environment.
De Armas is a member of the Conflux Duo with Natalie Sterba. The Conflux Duo frequently performs with Tim Snow (classical guitar) in and around the Sioux Falls area.
Carolina is passionate about teaching and mentoring students of all levels and she continues to work as a freelance performer and substitute musician throughout the region.
Outside of music, she loves reading, hiking and traveling, as well as discovering new places, especially coffee shops!