Meet Olman Alfaro | Musician, Musicologist, Biologist, Meditation Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olman Alfaro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olman, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In my case, it is not a business. I started my masters in voice performance at the University of Arizona and I did not have the type of opportunities I was looking for because I was interested in early music and the school does not have a degree in this area. So I decided to found a music ensemble called Arizona Baroque about 8 years ago to create my own performance opportunities and to have access to the learning process I was looking for. Fortunately, I received support from faculty members and I became both a performer and the artistic director. We started performing in the Tucson area but also sponsored to travel to Europe and Mexico, and even hired for international festivals. As a result, I received the Creative Achievement award from the College of Fine Arts and the GPSC Outstanding Graduate/Professional Student Leadership award. I am currently finishing my doctoral studies in musicology, directing Arizona Baroque, and teaching Spanish at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Arizona.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think I mentioned the main points in my previous answer regarding what I do. However, I would like to add the story of my challenges through this process. I think that the best and worst events in my life happened during my pursuit of what I wanted to do with my life. As I was finishing my masters degree I went through a difficult and unexpected breakup of a long relationship and that almost made me give up. I am really fortunate I had a deep transformational experience many years before when I became a breathwork and meditation instructor with Art of Living International. The stress management and mental health tools I learned with them became essential at that moment. I was able to recover from that situation and this allowed me to rebuild this part of my life even better. After entering the doctoral program in musicology my wife and I got pregnant but we unexpectedly went through a very difficult situation as she almost did not make it due to preclampsia. The delivery had to be induced very early and we had to almost suspend everything we were doing. My wife spent some time in the hospital and our son stayed about three months. Right after that came Covid and we all know how that was, and as things were starting to get better my mom passed away unexpectedly. She was very close to us and she was also the CEO of the family business (a tourism company) which had to file for bankruptcy after her passing because she was the only one who could keep the company working successfully during a pandemic affecting tourism worldwide. This was also a very uncertain time financially. This could have generated a lot of anxiety but it did not! All these events gave me the opportunity to understand what is important in life and also how to navigate through challenges with a smile and in a process of resilience. First of all, breathwork, especially the one I learned with Art of Living, is a clear tool to manage emotions and moments of crisis. I practice this everyday and it really sets me up for the day with more focus and a more aware and centered mind. Second, I experienced diagnosed clinical depression a long time ago, before practicing meditation and breathwork, and I have also learned that something that really helps taking you out of that state is taking care of others, doing service for others or the world. I am very busy, I have a lot to do as a full time student, and having a full time job and a toddler, but I am doing volunteer service every week. I am helping others have access to the breathing techniques I learned and seeing them have deep experiences and giving them these tools is definitely a way to uplift you and feel useful in the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, I am mostly in Tucson now, but whenever someone from outside the US comes, I make sure to take them to Mount Lemmon and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and the Pima Air and Space Museum. In Phoenix are I take them to the Musical Instrument Museum because it is amazing and I am a musician. I love it there. I like the Arizona Science Center too and the many outdoor possibilities like Camelback Mountain or the Desert Botanical Garden.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think the Art of Living Organization in Phoenix has been the main reasons I have been able to handle challenges successfully, and Jitesh Vaswani and Bindi Patel are two of the leaders who have been very supportive. Also Dr. John Brobeck at the University of Arizona as a mentor a supporter of my projects, and Dr. Janet Sturman, former director of the Department of Graduate Studies and professor at the Fred Fox School of Music. I would also like to thank Dr. Kristin Doran and Dr. Katia Bezerra from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for their continuous support.

Instagram: @baroquetenor

Image Credits
Roberto Mevans Ingvi Kallen