Oral history interview with Inés A. Voglar Belgique, 2019 March 21

This oral history interview with Inés A. Voglar Belgique was conducted by Nancy Dollahite and Sankar Raman on March 21, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Voglar Belgique discusses her family background and early life in Valencia, Venezuela, including her Slovenian heritage. She speaks at length about studying the violin beginning at age 6, describes the music education system in Venezuela, and talks about earning a degree in chemical engineering. She shares her experiences studying violin at Duquesne University and at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She also talks about adjusting to life in the United States. She describes living in Slovenia after her student visa expired, and returning to the U.S. to play with the Pittsburgh Symphony. She then speaks about auditioning for the Oregon Symphony in Portland. She shares her first impressions of Portland, shares her experiences playing with the symphony, and talks about teaching music at Lewis & Clark College and other organizations. She discusses the political and economic situation of Venezuela in 2019, and her involvement with Venezuela's Voice in Oregon, an organization that sends humanitarian aid to Venezuela. She closes the interview by talking about her family and her plans for the future.