Concert Guitarist Carlos de la Barrera, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, came to the United States in 1991. His extensive South American performances include solo recitals at the Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Vale Benetto, Santa María, Brazil; and Centro Cultural para las Artes, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Mr. de la Barrera’s past performances as a soloist with orchestra include several appearances with The Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and The Holland Symphony Orchestra.  He has also been featured with Mark O'Connor and the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in O'Connor's "Summer." De la Barrera's guitar concerto repertoire ranges from the traditional music of J. Rodrigo and A. Vivaldi to the contemporary compositions by A. Piazzolla, A. Kernis, and O. Macha.

Mr. de la Barrera’s recent five performances of  guitar solos and guitar concertos with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra at the distinguished DeVos Hall, in Grand Rapids, Michigan,  were described as “captivating, with a virtuoso flourish” by Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk (music critic, The Grand Rapids Press). A WGUC competition winner, his live broadcast was described as "beautifully executed" by Alan Scheidt (conductor and music critic, WGUC-FM). Renato Butturi, president of the Evansville Classical Guitar Society, wrote: "Barrera’s virtuosity and Latin style captivated the audience" (La Citarrina).

Mr. de la Barrera holds a Masters Degree from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati where he has been a guest faculty at the Summer Classical Guitar Workshop. He is also the director of the GVSU Annual Classical Guitar Workshop, and president of the GVSU Classical Guitar Society. He is currently teaching guitar at Grand Valley State University and Calvin College, in Michigan.