Artistic Director-Folklore Urbano NYC
Pablo Mayor established his musical production company Folklore Urbano NYC in 2000, shortly upon arriving to New York City, with a mission of #GlobalMusicToUnify.
Winner of the 2020 Artist Award from ArtsWestchester, Folklore Urbano NYC Artistic Director Pablo Mayor is first and foremost a creator. His compositions and creative concepts forge new territory in the global landscape of contemporary Latin American music as he expresses the nuance of each culture he encounters through both his compositions and his piano.
Pablo’s versatility ranges from his latest Folklore Urbano Orchestra creation: “El Barrio Project-SALSA,” to “Unspoken Tales,” a multi-disciplinary work inspired by immigrant stories from around the world, supported by the Culpeper Arts and Culture program of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. His compositions are featured in Berklee City Music’s Pulse Latino software in rhythms from South America and Mexico, and he has traveled throughout Latin America with Berklee’s educational program making connections between music education and the cultural roots of a country.
From Cali, Colombia, Pablo dedicated his first sixteen years in NYC to writing, producing, and promoting Colombian music including three albums with his band the Folklore Urbano Orchestra and an international tour. Mayor’s music has been featured by Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (his Colombian porro “Mercado en Domingo” recorded on ALJO’s Grammy award-winning album released 2014 Offense of the Drum), and his arrangements recorded by Totó la Momposina.
He is founder and producer of NYC’s Colombian music festival Encuentro NYC spanning over 16 years. Since 2016, he has been in residence at iD Studio Theater in the South Bronx, and continues over 20 years as resident composer for the company (featuring over 100 compositions bridging styles and genres).
In addition to his own Folklore Urbano ensembles, Pablo is pianist and the only non-Puerto Rican member of the folkloric Puerto Rican establishment Los Pleneros de la 21, and was for over 15 years pianist with the legendary Cuban Orquesta Broadway (his arrangements can be heard on their recordings).
Pablo Mayor is a contemporary cultural community leader deeply involved in Grassroots initiatives, whose music connects with local neighborhoods in towns and cities, while impacting audiences globally.