Paloma performs on Show 485.

Paloma Chaprnka (guitar), 16, attends Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. She began studying classical guitar at age three, and since then, has won first prizes at multiple international and national classical guitar competitions and performed in multiple venues and masterclasses. Recently, Paloma won the Traverse City Philharmonic Youth Concerto Competition, resulting in a performance of the first movement of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Traverse City Philharmonic. Paloma has also performed for Guitar Sarasota, The Florida Guitar Foundation, Interlochen Public Radio, with Manuel Barrueco’s “pre-college” virtuosos, and along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain, where she spent an immersive two weeks studying classical guitar. She has recorded at Guitar Salon International, Siccas Guitars, and Pepe Romero Jr. Guitars. She is also a sponsored artist with Strings by Mail.

Among Paloma’s most notable accomplishments is her dedication to the Buckley Guitar Project, which she founded and is the sole teacher. Paloma launched the Buckley Guitar Project in the fall of 2024. Through this project, she provides weekly, free classical guitar lessons to young students located in rural, northwest Michigan.

After first studying classical guitar under the tutelage of her father, Paloma spent most of her formative years studying under the direction of Irina Kulikova. Currently, Paloma studies with Rene Izquierdo and Jason Vieaux.

In addition to her classical guitar studies, Paloma is both a music theory tutor and a writing tutor at her high school’s tutoring center. She is also an avid writer; her piece “Lesser-known Composers and their Impact on the Musical World” was selected as part of “DePaul’s Blue Book: Best American High School Writing of 2023”. When not studying classical guitar and music, Paloma enjoys cooking and hiking.