Conductor MariaElena Tobon On Tour With Camerata Americas of The Youth Orchestra of the Americas - Concerts in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. Conductor MariaElena Tobon has just returned from an East Coast Tour with Camerata Americas, a wind and percussion ensemble of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, conducting school concerts in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. as well as two private concerts. In New York, in addition to a free family concert at The Americas Society, Ms. Tobon conducted a concert for Board Members, Sponsors and Special Guests of The Americas Society, Casita Maria and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. In Washington, she conducted Camerata Americas as part of the private Gala Opening Night of the National Gallery's Exhibit on the Ancient Art of the Mayas. This event was attended by First Lady of the United States Laura Bush and First Lady of Mexico Marta Fox, as well as many other distinguished guests. With the Mayan theme in mind, the program for the East Coast Tour comprised three major works by Mexican composer Carlos Chavez: Xochipilli, Toccata and Tambuco, as well as duets played by members of the ensemble. The guest faculty/coaches for the wind and percussion tour were Fernando Meza, percussionist with the Minnesota Orchestra, and Ms. Tobon, Music Director of New York's Americas Society. Ms. Tobon is the first woman to guest conduct the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Previous faculty/conductors include Placido Domingo, Leonard Slatkin, Yo-Yo Ma, Paquito D'Rivera, among many others. Maria Elena Tobon has appeared with many orchestras and ensembles in her native Colombia, across Europe, and in the U.S., both as conductor and flutist. Her latest engagements include an appearance as solo flutist with the Popayan Chamber Orchestra in Colombia and as guest conductor of the Brooklyn Heights and Queens Symphony Orchestras in New York, Orquesta Sinfonica del Valle in Colombia, the Orquesta Clasica de Valencia in Spain, the Vaasa City Orchestra in Finland, the Chamber Orchestra of the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Italy and the Kromierz Chamber Orchestra of the Czech Republic. She has also been Latin American Music Advisor to both the Contemporary Music Festival in Florence, Italy and the Queens (NY) Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Tobon was Founder of the Simar Festival and Music Director since its inception in 1995. She was also Music Director of the Queens Chamber Ensemble since 1996, Principal Conductor of the Touring Opera Company of New York, and served for 5 years as the Assistant Conductor of the Jupiter Symphony and 4 years as Assistant Conductor of the Naumburg Orchestra. Throughout her career Ms. Tobon has been very active in educational concerts, lectures and workshops, making these an integral part of the regular season and VIP activities of her various affiliations. Visit her website at http://www.jamesarts.com/tobon For more information about MariaElena Tobon, contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-797-9166 or [log in to unmask] Jeffrey James Arts Consulting Tel/Fax: 516-797-9166 Website: http://www.jamesarts.com