Meet Ivan | Classical Clarinetist and Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ivan, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I grew up in Colombia, South America, where music has a very important role in the community. Folk music is very rich in Colombia and I grew up surrounded by Colombian music and musical activities. I was fortunate to have found a program that offered free music education to kids from low resources communities and there is where I fell in love of the clarinet and music.
Thanks to music, I got to meet amazing artists who changed my life and had the opportunity to travel all around the world performing, which eventually became my professional career and my personal mission, to share music with all kinds of audiences and inspire future generations from all communities to pursue music, not just as a career but also as a way of life and a means of social transformation.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. From a very young age I was involved with music and learned how to play the requinto (a type of Colombian guitar used to play folk music) and the clarinet. Even though my family didn’t have the resources to enroll me in music lessons, they were always very supportive and found this amazing program that provided free music education to students in under-served areas of the city. I fell in love of music from a very young age and decided to follow this path. Through my career, I had the fortune to meet amazing teachers who motivate me to dream big and pursue my career at a higher level. I never thought this could be possible as studying abroad was financially impossible for me, but music is one of those careers that can take you to the most unbelievable places.
Thanks to the support from mentors and scholarships, I was able to come to the US and pursue a master degree and I was probably one of the first Colombian clarinetists in obtaining a doctoral degree in clarinet performance.

The world of classical music in the US is incredibly competitive, and even though I always felt somehow behind or in disadvantage for having to come from abroad and starting the process late, I have worked very hard to accomplish my goals and to be an inspiration to other hispanic musicians like me.
Along my career I have won International competitions, performed all around the world and play with some of the best orchestras in the country. I am currently living my professional dream as the Associate Principal Clarinet with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, one of the top orchestras in the US, which is a very difficult thing to accomplish. I could not be grateful enough for all that music has given me throughout the years.

I am a life testament of the power that music can have in someone’s life, despite their origin, race or genre. I want my life story to teach young musicians that we can overcome all obstacles if we dream big and work hard.

I am also very passionate about teaching. I have been teaching since I was very young and I’ve experienced the transformative power of music first hand in many different community programs in my country and around the world. I was one if the pioneers teaching artists of one of El Sistema programs in
Colombia, working with kids in the poorest and conflicting areas of Bogota, Colombia. In Central
America, I was selected as one of the eight Global Leaders form the American continent to visit music
programs for under-served communities in Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and others, to
teach, give master classes and inspire young musicians to accomplish their goals.

With this mission, I co-founded A Dos Music Project, an ensemble that has been expanding the horizons
of Latin music by performing traditional music with a non-conventional instrumentation and
demanding arrangements. The ensemble’s mission is educational development and the promotion of
music and art as a means of social transformation. We have performed in important venues in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Westborough, Washington D.C. and Austin in the United States, as well as in Syrian
refugee camps in Kassel, Germany and Nås, Sweden. We also offered free concerts and workshops in many different cities in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, including Indigenous communities in the Amazon region and underserved communities.

Along my professional career, I have discovered the importance of engaging new audiences and
providing meaningful artistic experiences to the public while sharing the transformative power of the
musical art.

As an orchestral musician, it is also my responsibility to be versatile and diverse while immersing in our
complex and plural society and I hope I can continue to support music programs with social missions and teaching and inspiring children and youth with the fewest resources and the greatest need, while helping young musicians to learn life values, develop cognitive and creative skills and maximize their talents.

Music is a right of all, a way to rescue children from poverty and violence, and a source of opportunities.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am still new in the Atlanta area, and as a father of a 6 and a 4 years old, I mostly know family and kids friendly areas. However, my first recommendation would be of course to attend a concert of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, if you want to hear some of the most amazing and high quality symphonic music in the world. While in the Woodruff Arts Center, I would recommend to also visit the Museum of High Arts and enjoy of amazing dining in the midtown area.

I would also recommend a very good Colombian restaurant, for sure and maybe a salsa dancing place!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to all organizations that work in offering life changing artistic and musical experiences to young artists who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them. I am grateful with institutions as Batuta Foundation (El Sistema inspired program in Colombia) and the OA Orchestra of Americas, who showed me a whole world of opportunities in music and inspired me to dream big and accomplish my goals in a very competitive field.
Thanks to these music programs I’ve experienced the transformative power of music in my life and at the same time it inspired me to create new ways to provide the same transformative musical experiences to new generations of musicians.

Instagram: @valbuenaivan28

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivan.j.paez.9/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@valbuenaclarinete