Welcome to
A society committed to music, music education, and collaboration within the guild.
“Our mission is to strengthen the Musical Community of San Miguel de Allende through an organized and inclusive musical ecosystem.
We are committed to enriching local cultural life by collaborating with the artistic community within and abroad, organizing concerts, and developing training programs that empower our community to express themselves through music.
We are dedicated to inspiring, connecting, and transforming lives through the power of music, fostering creativity, diversity, and inclusion in all our efforts.”
THE VALUES THAT GUIDE US AND WHAT WE BELIEVE IN:
PASSION FOR MUSIC
We are deeply moved by music and fully aware of its transformative power to improve our lives.
COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY
We create opportunities for community members to work together, share ideas, and support one another. We value diversity, inclusion, and local culture.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
We encourage musicians’ ingenuity and skills through music education and professional training, which are essential for progress in various aspects of life.
Jonah Kim
Artistic Director
An artist of great charisma and originality, Kim’s beauty of tone is immediately distinguishable by its signature sweetness. Kim invites the listener in with “the cosy warmth of a well-loved cashmere sweater,” (Gramophone) then “dives into the music with courage underpinned by formidable technical prowess, with which he achieves a dazzling performance.” (All About the Arts)
Kim made his solo debut with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra at 12 years of age, and has since captured the hearts of audiences around the world. Beyond the stage, his recent recording of the Kodaly Solo Sonata is praised for “[capturing] the very elusiveness that gives the music its substance” (Gramophone) and “flawless delivery of its Herculean technical demands… the sense of exhilaration in this performance has us on the edge of our seats.” (The Strad).
Named artistic director of Festival San Miguel de Allende in 2023, Kim is known for his unique programming, in which creativity and wide-ranging taste are guided by beauty. The presentations have been compared to “the masques of Henry Purcell or the Gesamtkunstwerk operas of Richard Wagner” (San Luis Obispo Review).
Luis Eduardo Quezada Bárcenas
Executive Director
Musician, marketing strategist, and cultural producer, committed to developing projects that expand access to the arts and create high-impact cultural experiences.
Since 2016, he has led APV Another Point of View, a marketing agency specializing in strategic communication and branding. In 2024, he founded UNSHOW Producciones, a company dedicated to the production of live performances and cultural initiatives.
From 2022 to 2024, he served as Executive Director of the San Miguel de Allende Chamber Music Festival, until the dissolution of the organization that managed the festival.
In 2025, he spearheaded the creation of the Music Society of San Miguel, a nonprofit organization established to preserve and strengthen the festival’s legacy while expanding its impact through new artistic and music education programs for the community.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with cultural institutions such as the Uruapan Chapter of the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana and the Alfonso Vega Núñez Morelia International Organ Festival (FIOM), contributing to the production, promotion, and positioning of artistic initiatives with both national and international reach.
Jurgen Justino Beltrán Hinckfuss
Community Ambassador
Born in Cuernavaca, Morelos, on February 2, 1956, he is a distinguished lawyer graduated from UAEM, with a master’s degree in Law. With a broad career in both the public and private sectors, he served as a justice of the peace, personal secretary to a senator, legal deputy manager at CONASUPO, and founder of the law firm Beltrán H y Asociados. He has represented major institutions and companies, and promoted the arts through the “Punto Rojo” Gallery. His passion for arts and culture reflects his parents’ legacy and his commitment to human dignity. He was a founding member of Rotary SMART and currently collaborates with Rotary Midday Club in San Miguel.
Kathleen Ellsworth
Community Ambassador
Originally from California and a resident of San Miguel de Allende for over a decade, Kathleen Ellsworth has become a prominent figure in the city’s philanthropic and volunteer community. With exemplary dedication and a deep sense of commitment, she has actively contributed to a variety of organizations, including Feed the Hungry, Pro Música, the Chamber Music Festival, and the Public Library, always bringing strength, professionalism, and outstanding organizational skills. Her constant presence and tireless work have made her one of the leading personalities in San Miguel’s social fabric.
Alzenira Santos Amaral Quezada
Community Ambassador
Known artistically as Lady Zen, she is a Master of Fine Arts from Stonecoast MFA (Maine) and a Fulbright Scholar in Opera from the University of Arkansas.
Internationally recognized as a performer, she is also a published author, TEDx speaker, producer and art director. She lives in Mexico, where she collaborates with the Marin Shakespeare Company and has written a film that has won over thirty international awards. She currently tours with her Royal Court Band, performing in CDMX, Querétaro, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel de Allende.
Alma Caballero Leal
Community Ambassador
Alma Caballero is an entrepreneur, cultural host, and founder of Alma Events. Born into a family deeply rooted in music—daughter of a bolero singer and a concert pianist, and sister to a distinguished copyright specialist—she has carried a lifelong passion for the arts into everything she creates.
At La Casa de los Secretos, her enchanting gathering space in San Miguel de Allende, Alma curates extraordinary experiences that bring together music, culture, and community. Through her warmth, vision, and impeccable hospitality, she has become one of the cherished personalities who help define the spirit of San Miguel.
Jason Thomas
Community Ambassador
Jason Thomas began his cello studies in the public schools of Raleigh, North Carolina. He earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in cello performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, Stony Brook University (SUNY), and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He served as Principal Cellist of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, was Assistant Professor of Cello Performance and Chamber Music at the University of Kentucky, and has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and most recently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Later in his professional career, he practiced environmental and administrative law in the United States.
His greatest artistic passion is chamber music and the education of future generations. He is particularly committed to introducing children and young people to this deeply expressive art form through performance and education.
