- Colombian-born principal tuba player highlights the instrument’s role in Mexican music while celebrating QPO’s multicultural character and Qatar Museums’ Year of Culture
The tuba may not always occupy the spotlight, but Richard Alberto Alonso Diaz knows how much character it can bring to an orchestra.
For the Colombian-born principal tuba player of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), performing Mexican repertoire also carries a personal connection, recalling childhood memories of rancheras and the powerful brass traditions that shaped his early musical environment.
Years before he became a professional musician, Alonso Diaz was already familiar with the sounds that would later become part of his artistic life.
"I still remember being a child and hearing my father listening to rancheras at home while he got together with his friends,” he said. "Without knowing that I would eventually become a musician, I was already surrounded by the sound of trumpets, guitarróns and brass instruments playing those beautiful Mexican melodies.”
That memory has stayed with him, making the opportunity to perform Mexican music with the QPO particularly meaningful.
The orchestra’s Sounds of Mexico programme, presented as part of the Qatar-Canada-Mexico 2026 Year of Culture, brought together music marked by strong rhythms, colour and distinctive cultural influences.
For Alonso Diaz, Mexican music has "a very special energy, rhythmic richness and identity”. What made the experience particularly interesting was seeing musicians from different nationalities approach Mexican rhythms and melodies through their own musical perspectives.
"‘Sounds of Mexico’ is a programme full of colour, energy and contrast,” he said. "For me, it is a beautiful example of what music can achieve: bringing people from all over the world together with a shared purpose, making music for our audience.”
However, the principal tuba player said the repertoire also presents considerable technical demands. Mexico’s strong brass-band and mariachi traditions give the tuba an important role in shaping the sound, but Alonso Diaz said performing the repertoire requires precision and control.
"The repertoire demands a high level of rhythmic precision, as well as great control of sound, articulation and colour,” he said. "For me, that combination makes it challenging, exciting and incredibly rewarding to play.”
His approach to the repertoire reflects a career spent moving between different musical cultures.
Originally from Colombia, Alonso Diaz has performed extensively in Latin America and Europe. In Argentina, he served as principal tuba player with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra of Teatro Colón and the Opera Orchestra of the La Plata Theatre.
He has also collaborated with ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Those experiences have taught him that musical interpretation is rarely confined to one cultural or artistic perspective.
"Working with musicians from different countries, cultures and musical traditions has shown me that there is never only one way to understand or express music,” he said.
Perhaps the most important lesson, he added, is learning to listen.
"In an orchestra, you have to listen, adapt and understand your colleagues in order to create something together,” he said.
That principle has become especially relevant in Qatar, where the QPO brings together musicians from around the world.
"With musicians from all over the world, every person brings a different perspective, and that creates an incredible artistic richness,” Alonso Diaz said.
His experience with the QPO has also changed how he sees his role as an international performer. He describes the orchestra as an internationally recognised symphonic institution with high artistic standards and a pioneering role in the region.
More importantly, he said, being part of the QPO has allowed him to join a genuinely international artistic community.
Whenever he travels and mentions that he is a QPO musician, he said, people often ask about Qatar, the orchestra and its culture.
"They are often genuinely fascinated to discover what a wonderful place Qatar is to live and how exceptional the orchestra is,” he said.
For Alonso Diaz, however, the most significant aspect of his experience in Qatar has been witnessing people from different backgrounds commit to the same artistic goal.
"The most important thing I have learned here is the love and dedication of a group of people coming together to make music,” he said.
That experience has reaffirmed his belief that music can serve as a meeting point between cultures. It is also why the Year of Culture carries particular significance for him. He sees the QPO’s Mexican programme not simply as an opportunity to perform another national repertoire, but as a way of bringing audiences and artists closer through music.
The Qatar-Canada-Mexico 2026 Year of Culture, he said, provides an opportunity to "bring our cultures closer together through music and create meaningful connections between audiences and artists.”