Today we’d like to introduce you to Sergio Buslje.
Hi Sergio, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
A native of Rosario, Argentina, Maestro Bušlje studied music from an early age and won the prestigious Alberto Williams Award for Young Musicians when he was only 10 years old. He continued his studies in conducting, piano, violoncello, and tuba at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Facultad de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. In 1986, he was the Boronda Scholar of Hartnell College in California, which took him to the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, and Japan to study music with major national artists.
Before founding the Pan American Symphony Orchestra in 1991, Maestro Bušlje was Assistant Conductor of the American University Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the American University Camerata in Washington, DC. Maestro Bušlje has been a featured guest conductor in Argentina, having conducted the Rosario Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Córdoba Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestras of Rosario and Córdoba. In June 2001, he was a guest conductor of the Sochi Symphony Orchestra in Sochi, Russia. From 1999-2002 he was the principal guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Honduras. In 2001, he won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to develop concert programming for the National Symphony of Honduras after which he hosted the National Youth Orchestra of Honduras for a performance tour to Washington, DC.
Maestro Bušlje has been guest conductor of the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra in Ecuador. In the summer of 2009, he was invited to bring his orchestra to Lima, Peru to participate in a South American music festival. As the only U.S. based orchestra participating in the event, the Pan American Symphony Orchestra musicians received critical acclaim for their high-quality musicianship and unique programming. In addition, the Ricardo Palma University in Lima presented Maestro Buslje with an honorary professorship in music. In 2011, Maestro Buslje returned to Lima with his orchestra to play a command performance for then President Alan Garcia in the Presidential Palace. To celebrate President Obama’s second electoral victory, Maestro Buslje and PASO performed for the 2013 Latino Inaugural Celebration at the Kennedy Center hosted by Eva Longoria. Among other soloists, Maestro Buslje has conducted Juan Diego Flores, Raul Esparza, Placido Domingo, Ruggiero Ricci, and Daniel Binelli.
Most recently, Maestro Bušlje was presented with a prestigious recognition from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Argentina that declared the Pan American Symphony Orchestra to be of significant national interest for its promotion of Argentine culture in the United States. This award mentions the 32 years of dedication and hard work carried out by Maestro Sergio Buslje to bring music from Argentina to the Washington, D.C. public which has contributed to strengthening cultural ties between Argentina and the United States.
Maestro Buslje has been the creative force behind the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, bringing to Washington audiences a refreshing alternative to mainstream orchestral repertoire. With his “sure command of the music’s expressive scope” and his “sensitive balancing of orchestral commentary”, Maestro Buslje has “quietly created a valuable Washington institution” (Washington Post).
Below is a description of the orchestra
The Pan American Symphony Orchestra (PASO) was founded more than three decades ago by the dynamic Argentine conductor and musician Sergio Alessandro Buslje. His vision was to bring the rich tradition of Latin American symphonic music to concert halls in Washington, D.C. Although Maestro Buslje had spent many years studying and performing the standard classical repertoire, he recognized a notable gap in the region’s cultural offerings: Latin American symphonic works were rarely featured. Believing that the musical heritage of Latin America contains a wealth of exceptional orchestral compositions deserving wider recognition, he established PASO to showcase and celebrate this vibrant repertoire.
Over the years, PASO has performed symphonic music originating from Latin America with an on-going concert series that showcases gifted Latin American musicians and soloists. With critical acclaim from the press and a loyal following from the public, PASO remains on the cutting edge of symphonic performances with newly commissioned works, such as Danzón no. 7, by eminent contemporary Mexican composer, Arturo Marquez, who dedicated this beautiful piece to Maestro Buslje. The orchestra has dedicated a season to Latin American women composers and was the first orchestra in the Washington, DC area to perform the unusual, but beautifully melodic, tango-opera, Maria de Buenos Aires, by Astor Piazzolla. PASO has featured rarely performed works by composers from Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Cuba, and Brazil.
PASO was the only US-based ensemble to participate in the prestigious two- week long Al-Bustan Music Festival in Beirut, Lebanon in 2012. PASO also performed in Lima, Peru in 2010 and received such notable acclaim from the public, press and media, that in 2011, President Alan Garcia of Peru invited PASO to play a command performance at the Presidential Palace. PASO most recently performed a series of concerts in Medellin, Colombia for the International Festival of Tango. When the U.S. Latino Inaugural Committee was looking for an orchestra that represents the rich culture of Latin America to accompany all the music stars in a grand inaugural celebration for President Obama’s 2012 election victory, the Kennedy Center recommended PASO. The January 2013 Latino Inaugural Celebration hosted by Eva Longoria featured Rita Moreno, Jose Feliciano, Prince Royce, opera sensation Juan Diego Florez, Broadway and TV star, Luis Esparza, among others, — all accompanied by PASO.
PASO is perhaps best-known for its symphonic tango performances. The only symphonic tango orchestra in the United States, PASO draws audiences from across the U.S. for its annual DC Tango Festival with its variety of tango-themed events and its signature finale tango show. Maestro Buslje has arranged traditional tangos for symphony orchestra, and together with the nuevo tangos of Astor Piazzolla, the best tango dancers and soloists from Buenos Aires to New York City, PASO’s tango shows have become a highly anticipated season favorite. As the United Nations recently designated tango as part of the world’s cultural heritage to be preserved and supported, PASO has taken its place among the great tango ensembles of the world. In 2021, PASO’s recording, Tango of the Americas, was nominated for a Latin Grammy award. This unique recording features new tango compositions by young tango musicians from Colombia, Argentina, and the United States. PASO has since released four new tango recordings: Tango without Borders (2022), Tango Sinfónico-Live (2023), Suite Troileana- Live (2024), and Soul of Tango- Live (2025). All PASO recordings can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, and Bandcamp.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I started the orchestra with no resources and no contacts in the symphony orchestra field in the Washington, DC area. I started with a volunteer orchestra, made of up area musicians who wanted to learn new music that is different from the standard repertoire they had been playing. I didn’t take any fees for my services for many years. We kept admission prices low. The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium then programmed PASO as part of its season lineup. This was in the 1990’s and early 2000’s when Lisner had a regular world music season. As the orchestra got more well-known, I made the orchestra professional. That means musicians had to audition to be selected. In that way, I was able to get top-notch musicians and also hire the best Latino talent as soloists (singers and dancers included). And then we began to perform in a variety of venues, finally making it to the Kennedy Center in 2014.
In Washington, DC there are over 30 symphony orchestras counting university and community orchestras. One of our biggest challenges is that we are all competing for the same audience. And newspapers no longer have full time arts review staff so it is hard to get wider publicity.. By performing at the Kennedy Center from 2014-2025, PASO was able to gain more patrons and a very dedicated following.
As with all nonprofit arts organizations, obtaining consistent funding sources is always a challenge. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities has been supportive over our long history and kept us going. We also have some regular donors. But funding is always a challenge.
The road just got rockier with the takeover of the Kennedy Center by the Trump Administration and its subsequent closing for renovations. We always sold out our shows there until the Trump Administration changed the personnel and programming. Then our patrons boycotted the venue and we eventually had to cancel our performances due to lack of ticket sales. Then the venue closed. Our newest challenge is finding new theaters to perform in that accommodate an orchestra (and dancers) and that PASO can afford. We are taking a leap of faith (in our patrons) and performing at the Music Center at Strathmore on October 11, 2026, a 1,900 seat theater in Bethesda. We have never had to fill so many seats so this is a challenge but we are up for it!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
– Latin American classical music
– Tango
What are you most proud of?
-having a symphony orchestra in the nations capital
-being the first US orchestra to perform in Beirut at the Al-Bustan International Music festival
-being the first US orchestra to perform at the Medellin International Tango Festival
– getting nominated to the Latin Grammys
-Being the orchestra that played for president Obama’s Latino inaugural in 2013 at the Kennedy Center
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’ve always been a risk taker. As a young conductor new to the US, I took the risk of starting an orchestra in the nation’s capital with no money and no connections to the music scene in DC. Without risk taking, there is no success.
Again, I’m taking a big risk by having my next show at the Strathmore, a nearly 2,000 seat theater that costs 3 times the rent and production of the Terrace Theater where we’ve been performing over the last decade (in addition to Embassies and smaller venues like Gala Theater, Kreeger Theater, among others). This is the biggest risk I’ve taken in the history of my orchestra because of the amount of money involved. But if I succeed at the Strathmore, I will have increased PASO’s visibility, its audience, and its revenues. Especially in the arts, one has to take risks. For me, so far, the risks have paid off but with lots of determination and perseverance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://panamsymphony.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/panamsymphony/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/panamsymphony/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PanAmericanSymphonyOrchestra
