Juan David Forero

Born in Colombia, Juan David Forero started to play percussion and marimba at the age of 14 under Federico Demmer in the National University of Colombia Conservatory of Music, there he also studied with Rafael Zambrano, William Leon and Mario Sarmiento on Percussion and with Libardo Saavedra on Conducting.

Mr. Forero won several national competitions in Colombia and has played as soloist with different symphony orchestras as Youth symphony Orchestra of Colombia, The Colombia symphony Orchestra, The National symphony, The Orchestra of EAFIT in Medellin among others. He play in the Colombian debut of several pieces of the repertoire for solo marimba.

In 2006 Mr. Forero participate in the International Marimba Competition in Linz winning the IKMMA award, a special prize who gave him the oppportunnity to travel to Poland to the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy in 2007 as winner of a scholarship.

After this experience Juan decided to create the “Taller Nacional de Marimba”  (National Marimba Workshop) a educational event created with the intention of show the marimba music to the general audiences and to work with young talented musicians in the developing of their technique and repertoire.

He also studied in Masterclasses with outstanding musicians as Katarzyna Mycka, Keiko Abe, Jean Geoffroy,  Peter Sadlo, Robert van Sice, Eric Sammut, Ney Rosauro, Svet Stoyanov among others.

Juan Forero also participate in the First Latinamerican Marimba Competition in Tuxtla Gutierrez winning the Keiko Abe Special prize and in 2012 he was a semifinalist in the 6th. World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart.

Mr Forero develop an intense work with chamber music with the percussion group of the National Symphony Orchestra and with the marimbas and percussion duo Bosa wlth the percussionist Diana Melo.

Since 2003 he is the Timpanist in the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, with this orchestra he has toured different countries as Ecuador, Spain, Israel and Oman. Also he has worked with important conductors and soloists as Gustavo Dudamel, Irwin Hoffman, Rosen Milanov, Colin Currie, Johannes Moser, Roberto Alagna and Boris Berezovsky among others.