Fabián Gallón with Diego Bahamón Serrato

The Roxbury Arts Group is thrilled to present a concert of Colombian tiple music with keepers of the tradition Fabián Gallón and Diego Bahamón Serrato at the Headwaters Arts Center on Friday, April 12 at 7:30p. This event is free and open to all. Doors for this performance will open at 7:00p and the performance will begin at 7:30p. The Headwaters Arts Center will have folding chairs available, but audience members are invited to bring their own chairs or blankets for the floor.

Considered the national instrument of Colombia, the tiple is a 12-string instrument that descended from guitars brought by Spanish conquerors to the New World. It was an instrument first played by artists and people from humble backgrounds until gaining more widespread popularity. Today the tiple is seen as an instrument linked to the folklore of rural Colombia where it remains popular.

Fabián Gallón was born in Pereira, the mountainous coffee region of Colombia, where he learned to play the tiple from his father and brothers. He went on to study with Maestro Benjamin Cardona before entering the conservatory of Universidad Technologica of Pereira. Eduaro Carrizoa, Orquestra Conductor says, “Colombian tiple has in Fabián Gallón its best passionate and knowledgeable interpreter. In his hands lay the responsibility of keeping the path of the development of the technique and interpretation of the instrument.” In 2018, Fabián Gallón was awarded a Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship in the Traditional Arts.

Gallón was very active in Bogata’s musical scene, performing and recording with Trio Ancestro, as well as dedicating himself to bringing up the next generation of leading Colombian tiple players. One of those players included Diego Bahamón Serrato. Diego’s impressive performances have earned him countrywide acclaim as both a solo performer and bandleader. He received top honors at the Festival Mono Nuñez (2014), where he won Best Solo Performer and Best Tiple Player, as well as at Performing Music Contest of Bogota (2011). Diego currently tours as a solo performer and with his ensemble Itinerante, which performs an eccentric blend of lesser-known folk traditions from the Andean region. He also organizes educational workshops in his local Bogota community.