The followings is a press release written by Sebastian Fonseca for Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez.
The internationally acclaimed Colombian conductor and scholar, Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez, joins the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra on November 1, 2025, to lead a groundbreaking concert and pre-concert talk that reimagines orchestras as epicenters of full societal conversation—uniting communities, elevating local identity, and sustaining both artistic and financial vitality.
? Key Highlights
· A deeply emotional concert experience that transforms Latin-American heritage into powerful main-stage experiences that resonate with audiences and uphold the highest professional standards.
· REAL Latin-American Music:
o At the Main Stage
o of a Subscription Concert
o of a Professional Orchestra in USA.
· Live Orchestral Improvisation and Audience Participation — Experience the rare thrill of a full orchestra improvising live, while the audience actively engages in the music-making, reflecting the true essence of Latin-American musical culture, where music is lived, felt, and celebrated collectively.
· A global repertoire launch and symphonic premieres, featuring original Latin-American arrangements that will be available through the LatinAmericanScores™ catalog.
· A pre-concert talk unveiling the models and frameworks that unite art, sustainability, and community collaboration — scientifically developed, field-tested across global orchestral contexts, and adaptable to the multi-local complexities of any performing arts organization worldwide.
· A clear real-world demonstration of how orchestras can achieve the highest artistic standards while remaining socially connected, financially strong, and ecologically sustainable by applying the framing of the Performing Arts as cultural commons.
The Concert: Canciones para ti / Songs for you
Death and Life in Concert — A Latin-American Symphonic Experience at the Main Stage.
Audiences will embark on a journey through life, memory, and celebration — told through the sounds of Latin-American heritage. Under Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez’s baton, the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra will bring to life newly commissioned symphonic arrangements of works such as La Bruja, La Llorona, El Triste, La Vida es un Carnaval, and Colombia Tierra Querida, developed by PAL Symphonic Arrangements™ under Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez’s supervision.
Through these special arrangements, traditional melodies and rhythms are transformed into full symphonic canvases — expansive, emotional, and authentic. The concert showcases a rich tapestry of musical styles and aesthetics, from traditional folk and popular idioms to deeply expressive symphonic textures, even featuring moments of live orchestral improvisation — a truly rare and exhilarating experience not usually seen in the symphonic world.
More than a performance, this concert becomes a shared act of creation: the audience itself becomes an active participant in the music-making, echoing the true essence of Latin-American musical culture — where music is lived, felt, and celebrated together.
The program honors Latin-American heritage not as a side or “pops” concert designed merely to support the main season, but as a centerpiece of artistic excellence, cultural dignity, and orchestral innovation, grounded in genuine social connection and audience representation. This main-stage subscription concert invites everyone to feel and belong — to hear the sounds of a continent through the expressive power of a full orchestra, and to experience the shared humanity that connects all cultures through music. More information about the concert: https://www.barbosavasquez.com...
After its premiere with Greeley Symphony, these symphonic arrangements will be available for worldwide rental through the LatinAmericanScores™ catalog, a Performing Arts Laboratory initiative that empowers orchestras globally to perform authentic, community-centered Latin-American works at the highest professional artistic standards in “concert-ready” editions. More info at: https://www.performingartslab....
? The Pre-Concert Talk: Sustaining Excellence — Building Artistic, Community-Centered, and Profitable Orchestras
Before the concert, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez will lead a pre-concert lecture revealing the conceptual, creative, and institutional frameworks that made this Main Stage concert possible — offering unique insights for musicians, arts administrators, and community leaders worldwide.
The talk unfolds as a structured journey through his internationally awarded research on Performing Arts Sustainability, informed by over 150 performing arts institutions worldwide and the work of the Performing Arts Laboratory.
1. Reframing the Performing Arts as Cultural Commons — redefining orchestras as servants of their communities, fostering shared cultural ownership and public value.
2. The 4D PAL Ecosystem Mapping™ and the MAP & ABC Governance Models — innovative frameworks aligning artistic, financial, social, and ecological sustainability to build thriving cultural institutions.
3. Designing Sustainable Programming — how orchestras can curate world-class artistic programs that genuinely reflect and serve their communities while remaining financially resilient and environmentally conscious.
4. Community Collaboration in Artistic Decisions — exploring participatory approaches that integrate musicians, administrators, and audiences into the creative process.
5. Cultural and Historical Meaning in Practice — understanding how community identity and heritage become the foundation of artistic creation, using the Latin-American repertoire as an example.
6. From Ideas to Sound: The Creation of New Symphonic Arrangements — how traditional pieces were reimagined for orchestra under Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez’s artistic leadership, ensuring both aesthetic authenticity and artistic excellence.
7. The Greeley Collaboration — how the partnership between Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez, the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and Greeley communities turned shared vision into reality, bringing community culture to the main stage as a powerful expression of inclusion and respect.
In addition, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez will guide audiences through each piece of the concert, unveiling what makes every arrangement unique and offering a special “listening map” designed to help classical concertgoers engage more deeply with this repertoire. For broader community audiences, he will share some insides of why this music matters — the stories, values, and cultural significance it embodies — transforming the concert into a shared journey of discovery, identity, and connection.
This pre-concert event demonstrates how research, leadership, and artistry converge to redefine the orchestra as a living system — one that sustains itself by serving its people. More information about the Pre-Concert Talk: https://www.barbosavasquez.com...
?️ About Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez
Recognized as one of Latin America’s leading Conductors and a global authority on Performing Arts Sustainability, Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez serves as General Director of the Performing Arts Laboratory and Music Director of The Americas Chamber Orchestra. An Official Ambassador of Colombia (Country Brand) since 2017, and celebrated as a “Musical Genius” by the international press, he has collaborated with world-renowned institutions including the St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras; major opera houses such as Santa Fe, Atlanta, Houston, and Royal de Wallonie; the IU Opera and Ballet Theater; and global organizations like Opera America, the League of American Orchestras, the World Federation of Amateur Orchestras, and the Nobel Prize-winning Ostrom Workshop.
With a Doctorate in Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Conducting from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, with Doctoral Minors in Music Theory and Arts Administration (the only Colombian with this distinction), Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez has conducted multiple times awarded postdoctoral research in Performing Arts Sustainability. His work focuses on framing the Performing Arts as Cultural Commons and developing practical
strategies to secure the four dimensions of sustainability: Artistic, Financial, Social, and Ecological — all through the 4D PAL Ecosystem Mapping™ and its six interconnected governance models: MAP (Musical, Artistic, and Pedagogic) and ABC (Administrative, Business, and Community). More information about Maestro Barbosa-Vasquez at: www.barbosavasquez.com Full Press kit: www.barbosavasquez.com/presski...
? Press & Interview Inquiries:
Sebastian Fonseca
Press Officer – Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez prensa.sebastianfonseca@gmail.com
+57 316 445 3932
? Bloomington, Indiana – Bogotá, Colombia
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