The CreatiVrole Project: Music Education and Cultural Exchange
We are a nonprofit organization supporting artists, musicians, and creative communities through access to resources, education, and creative infrastructure.
Our awesome team
Leadership
The CreatiVrole Project is led by musicians, researchers, and advocates with years of on-the-ground experience in the communities we serve.
Chaz Chambers – President & Treasurer
Chaz Chambers is a professional drummer, composer, and social entrepreneur with a performance degree from the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media and an international touring career with Ringling Brothers and Carnival Cruise Lines. In 2017 he founded Havana Music Tours, a music-focused cultural travel company that has earned TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for three consecutive years. He expanded the work globally through Musical Getaways in 2019, building programs for universities, private groups, and culturally curious travelers across Cuba, Colombia, Brazil, and Spain. In 2025 he launched The CreatiVrole Project as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, applying years of on-the-ground relationships in music communities to structured, long-term support for artists and educators worldwide.
Yamilka Cabrera — Vice President
Yami Cabrera is a Cuban-American musicologist and Co-Director of Musical Getaways and Havana Music Tours. Her work combines applied ethnomusicology with cultural tourism strategy — researching musical histories, designing educational travel frameworks, and building programs grounded in long-term relationships with working musicians and cultural institutions across Havana, Medellín, Salvador, and Cádiz. As Vice President of the CreatiVrole Project, she leads communications strategy, campaign planning, and program development. Her background spans cultural research, arts administration, marketing and communications, and cross-cultural project management.
Leonora Holt — Board Member
Leonora Holt is an Atlanta, Georgia native with deep roots in the city’s business and arts communities. Her professional background bridges creative industries and organizational leadership, with a career focused on expanding access to education and the arts. Having worked her way through school supported by grants and scholarships, she understands firsthand the importance of equitable pathways for students pursuing creative and academic goals. She has supported student scholarships, local arts initiatives, music programs, and community-based nonprofits throughout Atlanta. As a board member of the CreatiVrole Project, she brings experience in nonprofit governance, arts programming, grants, and cultural events.
The organization was founded by Chaz Chambers and Yami Cabrera, musicians and educators who have spent years managing Havana Music Tours and Musical Getaways. These music-centered travel companies were established to connect students and educators with local music scenes, specifically in Cuba, Colombia, and Brazil.
CreatiVrole Project did not begin as a conceptual nonprofit. It emerged from years of work already taking place in rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and performance spaces.
Through this consistent presence on the ground, a practical need became clear: the importance of access to tools, space, and continuity for creative professionals and students.
On-the-ground Origins
While Havana Music Tours and Musical Getaways are cultural travel companies rather than charities, their operations created the foundation for CreatiVrole Project. By coordinating music programs and tours in Cuba over many years, the founders maintained constant interaction with working musicians, educators, and cultural leaders.
This proximity allowed them to see the tangible difference that functional resources made in a creative environment. Guests on these tours began asking how they could help—not as donors seeking an abstract impact, but as musicians wanting to support their peers. They asked if they could bring instruments, if a school could use a laptop, or if there was a way to help a local group finish a recording project.
Practical Support and Creative Resources
The development of CreatiVrole Project was shaped by quiet, direct exchanges. Guests often traveled with guitars, horns, and percussion instruments to be handed directly to music students or schools.
Chaz and Yami began doing the same, transporting essential equipment to musicians they knew personally. These items included:
- Recording interfaces: Allowing musicians to record and produce work privately.
- Laptops: Enabling artists to compose, arrange, teach, and maintain professional connections.
- Instruments: Providing students with the physical tools necessary for their education.
These efforts were not about scale, but about the consistency of providing functional tools tied directly to creative and educational work.
Fundraising Through Community
As these professional relationships deepened, The CreatiVrole Project began organizing focused fundraising efforts. These initiatives are specific and tied to clear objectives, such as:
Assisting groups like La Conga de los Hoyos in Santiago de Cuba with funds to complete recording projects.
Providing assistance following natural disasters, such as the hurricanes in eastern Cuba in 2024 and 2025, by working through established local channels.
Raising funds for laptops and interfaces for composers and educators.
The Transition to a Nonprofit Structure
For years, this work was conducted informally through personal responsibility and trust. However, as the scope of these activities grew, a formal structure became necessary to ensure transparency and legal compliance.
CreatiVrole Project was established to separate charitable activities from commercial travel operations and to provide a clear framework for international work. The organization’s focus remains on practical support for the arts and education, facilitated through long-standing relationships and appropriate local channels.
CreatiVrole Project is a Colorado nonprofit corporation with IRS 501(c)(3) status.
Newsletter
Enter your email address below and subscribe to our newsletter