Barbosa-Vásquez conducted for "Prime League" Orchestras' Concertmasters

In March 2021, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez conducted the Indiana University Orchestras for current and ex-concertmasters of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, and associate concertmasters of The Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony.

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In March 2021 Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez enjoyed a remarkable artistic and learning experience. For two weeks, he was conducting the Indiana University Orchestras for rehearsals lead remotely (by zoom) by current and ex concertmasters of some of the leading orchestras worldwide. In a social distancing environment with orchestras spread out, a fact that difficult the orchestra cohesion, the task for Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez was clear but not easy to achieve: Get the high musical, technical, and artistic standards that these concertinos are used to have in their orchestras, by only using his conducting technique and leadership skills.

The repertoire selected for the experience were Brahms' Symphony No. 2, and Symphony No. 4, Shostakovich's Op.110a for String Orchestra, and Stravinsky's Concerto in D ("Basle") for String Orchestra. And the orchestras were composed of symphonic performance students at various levels (undergraduate, artistic diploma, master's and doctorate) from Indiana University, adding a high degree of complexity from the conducting point of view due to the multi-level present in the orchestras.

"The repertoire was amazing and very challenging, not only for the music itself, that is very demanding, but also because the people that were leading the rehearsal have performed this music multiple times and under the baton of the most important conductors worldwide[...] I studied the music very in-depth as always, and with a carefully review of different performances practice of these scores. I knew that I had to be ready not only to be able to lead my interpretation but also to adjust in few seconds it to the interpretations the experienced concertinos wanted me to do for educational purposes for the orchestra... Was a marvelous learning experience for me as conductor and performer" Barbosa-Vásquez said.

The rehearsals were lead totally by the outstanding concertmasters. From adjusting tempos, dynamics, and balances; to deciding the spot to start, end, or the energy flow of the rehearsal. "Was amazing to see how different each orchestra practice is, how different their performance approaches are, and how rehearsal structures works between the outstanding institutions. Each concertmaster approached very differently the music, how the orchestra should approach the sound, and even how they should react to my beat and my conducting. It was like conducting orchestras of different countries and performance's cultures each time. Was an amazing opportunity to polish my skills of adjusting my conducting and leadership aura to always get the best musical and artistic results [...] I learned a lot from this experience".

The concertinos in charge of the rehearsals were:

Alexander Kerr: Ex-concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO - in Amsterdam) 1996-2006, Concertmaster of Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2011, and Principal Guest Concertmaster of Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra since 2008. Full Bio Here.

Jorja Fleezanis: Ex-concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra 1989 to 2009, Associate Concertmaster with the San Francisco Symphony for eight years, and a member of the Chicago Symphony. Full Bio Here.

Ellen dePasquale: Appointed concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra in 1996. Associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra 1999 to 2007. Full Bio Here.