Choral conducting is an extracurricular activity for Norka, who holds a PhD in Geochemistry from the University of Calgary. One of the founders of “Cantares Venezuelan Choir”, Norka has been linked to music for a long time and in particular to Venezuelan folk music. She studied voice, comping piano and guitar, at the Conservatory of Music of Ciudad Bolivar (Venezuela), her native town, and started singing in choirs and folk groups at an early age.  Norka likes playing the “Cuatro”, a four string instrument typical of Venezuelan folklore. She has taken advantage of her choral singing experience to support the consolidation of “Cantares Venezuelan Choir”. This experience was enriched during her stay of more than 7 years in the United Arab Emirates, with the opportunity to participate in the BBC Proms at Dubai Opera and be part of the choirs that accompanied tenor Andrea Bocelli in concerts in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, among many other exciting choral exposures.

Norka also holds music theory and piano certificates from the Royal Conservatory of Music, studied piano with pianist Ariel Gonzalez and took choral conducting classes with Don Quantz at Ambrose University in Calgary.