Pablo Mayor is a composer, arranger, pianist, from Cali, Colombia, whose reputation has grown from that of a brilliant pianist and writer to that of a leader and visionary since moving to NYC in 1999. While Professor of Jazz at Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1998, Mr. Mayor began his personal investigation of the native music of Colombia. Mr. Mayor has taken his knowledge of Colombian folklore and has combined it with an extensive knowledge of jazz harmonies and arranging. His work with his group, the Folklore Urbano Orchestra, has produced three CD’s and taken the band to both national and international venues. He has recently established an exciting collaboration with Colombian dancer and choreographer Daniel Fetecua Soto (of Jose Limon Dance Company) and his dance company Pajarillo Pinta'o. The relationship has led to the development of a fully-choreographed show with the Folklore Urbano Orchesta featuring Pablo's original music and Daniel's original choreography and stage direction. This spectacular show has been presented in Houston, Milwaukee, and throughout NYC since its conception in 2009. More than just creating and performing Colombian music, Pablo Mayor has also been on a mission to promote Colombian music and culture. Beginning in 2003, featuring the renowned “Gaiteros de San Jacinto,” he founded the annual “Encounter of Colombian Musicians in New York,” an event in its eighth year running uniting Colombian musicians in an effort to document what he calls a “movement” of Colombian musicians in the world, beginning in New York City. Past events at such renowned venues as the Highline Ballroom and El Museo del Barrio in Manhattan, have featured such renowned musicians as Totó la Momposina, Plectro Trio, Hector Martignon, Samuel Torres, Edmar Castañeda, Marta Gomez, Lucía Pulido, La Cumbiamba eNeYe, Diego Obregón, Andrés Garcia, as well as Folklore Urbano and others. Mr Mayor has become a representative for Colombian music and culture in the USA; in 2008, Mr. Mayor was invited to speak on Colombian music at the Colombian Embassy on Capitol Hill, during the 2008 celebration featuring Petrona Martínez. He has been active as educator of Colombian music leading an annual Colombian music residency at PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island (having completed its fourth year) through a partnership grant with Turtle Bay Music School, and has presented educational concerts on Colombian music throughout New York City and beyond. In addition to his Colombian project, Mr. Mayor has been working as both pianist and arranger for Orquesta Broadway, where his music and piano playing is featured on their forty-year celebration CD, and has been an active pianist in the Afro-Cuban scene. Pablo Mayor’s renowned big band compositions were recorded by the Grammy award winning One O’Clock Lab band and his music was performed in March 2009 by Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra at Symphony Space in NYC. Mr. Mayor wrote and produced the music for “A Clear Midnight,” “El Patio,” “El Pesebre,” “Guadalupe, Años Sin Cuenta” (in conjunction with artist Omar Rayo), “Allende: The Death of a President,” live theatre productions by the ID Studio performed throughout the NYC area. He most recently composed, directed, and recorded music for three parts of a trilogy, text by Juan Rulfo, entitled “El Paso del Norte” y “Diles que no me Maten,” and most recently premiered “the Foolish Disciple,” directed by Germán Jaramillo, at the Theater for the New City in Manhattan. He is an arranger for Drop 6 Media, Inc, a publishing company based in Denton, TX. Since 1999, he has been professor of Latin piano at the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, where he teaches Latin piano and directs the Latin jazz ensembles, and co-directs an annual summer workshop in Latin music. He has also taught jazz arranging at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory. Mr. Mayor has produced and arranged for musicians, such as Toto La Momposina and Armando Manzanero, in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Colombia, and Mexico. He holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in Jazz Arranging from the University of North Texas.