With an unprecedented array of first prizes in major international competitions, Colombia-born "Ricardo Cobo" is recognized as one of the world's leading virtuosi of the new classic guitar generation. He gave his professional debut with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá at age seventeen on a nationwide telecast for an audience of over nine million. He made his astonishing debut to American audiences as the first Hispanic ever to win consecutive medals at Guitar Foundation of America Solo International Competition. Equally in demand as chamber musician, pedagogue and recording artist, Cobo's busy touring schedule has taken him from New York's Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall to Korea's Ho Ham Hall, Los Angeles' Ambassador Auditorium, Madrid's Teatro Real, and Zaragoza's Palacio Real, to Venezuela's Teresa Carreño, and his native Colombia's National Library, among hundreds of others. At his Phillips Gallery solo debut, The Washington Post called his playing "mesmerizing...fiery...sultry...Cobo crafted note-perfect essences of beauty." Cobo's versatility can be heard in his award-winning solo recordings of classical and children's music, his orchestral and crossover recordings, and in hundreds of credits for commercial releases worldwide. His diverse and innovative programming ranges from solo concerti with orchestra to historical chamber settings as well as Tango and Flamenco dance ensembles to Latin and world music concerts. His performance of the historic American Premiere of Leo Brouwer's Concerto de Toronto under the composer's own baton with the San Antonio Symphony was called "extrovert, lyrical and rhythmically alive...Cobo's performance was characterized by generosity of spirit, to say nothing of knockout virtuosity," added the San Antonio Express News. Cobo has been decorated by his country on numerous occasions, receiving Colombia's "Order of Cañasgordas" and the "Order of Belalcazar" for outstanding merit in cultural affairs. Ricardo Cobo currently makes his home in Las Vegas. For more information please visit him at: http://www.ricardocobo.com