TERESA CARREÑO’S EARLY YEARS IN CARACAS: CULTURAL INTERSECTIONS OF PIANO VIRTUOSITY, GENDER, AND NATION-BUILDING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY _________________________________________ DISSERTATION __________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky By Laura Pita Columbia, Missouri Director: Dr. Jonathan Glixon, Professor of Musicology Lexington, Kentucky 2019 Copyright © Laura Pita 2019 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2675-0585