Guest ArtistsJacomo Rafael Bairos, conductor

Described as “expressive and passionate” (Malaysian Straits Times) and lauded by the Leipziger Volkszeitung as an “impressive conductor… who is elegantly demanding,” Portuguese-American Jacomo Rafael Bairos enjoys an emerging career as an imaginative and inclusive conductor, ardent champion of living American composers and dedicated collaborator and educator.

In 2013 Mr. Bairos became the Amarillo Symphony’s 17th Music Director and Conductor. He has garnered quick praise for his fresh and inventive programming, community-driven initiatives, and commissioning and performance of works by living composers. His adventurous collaborations with actors and graphic artists—as well as his use of technology to enhance and bring more excitement to the concert experience—have helped transform the Amarillo Symphony into a vehicle for community partnerships.

Mr. Bairos is also in high demand as a guest conductor across the United States and abroad, annually working with some of America’s finest ensembles including the Florida Orchestra and the Atlanta, Charlotte and Charleston Symphony Orchestras, among others. His recent subscription performances include the Atlanta, Alabama and Charleston Symphonies, where he collaborated with Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, pianist Jeremy Denk. Mr. Bairos also returned to the Florida Orchestra for several weeks of diverse programing, which included working with platinum-selling singer-songwriter Ben Folds. Internationally, Mr. Bairos made Latin-American debuts with the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial of Santa Fe Argentina and the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Guanajuato of Mexico. Some of Bairos’s diverse and eclectic artist collaborations include appearances with famed American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, violin virtuoso Shlomo Mintz, acclaimed guitarist Miloš Karadaglić, Grammy®-nominated Tiempo Libre and the eclectic crossover group ProjectTrio. Along with composer Sam Hyken, Mr. Bairos is co-founder and Artistic Director of Nu Deco Ensemble, a virtuosic and eclectic chamber orchestra designed for the 21st Century.

A committed educator, Jacomo Rafael Bairos (along with the Amarillo Symphony) has introduced Class Act, which passionately presents music performances, lessons, and he lectures to schools across the Texas panhandle. In 2010 he was the Music Director for the National Youth Orchestra Festival of Portugal and previously worked with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids program to create hands-on educational workshops for children in underserved urban communities.