Over the course of his 30-year career, percussionist and 2000 Pew Fellow Pablo Batista has performed, recorded, and toured with a range of leading jazz, R&B, Latin, pop, and gospel artists including Bono, George Howard, Alicia Keyes, Gerald Levert, Jeffrey Osborne, Eddie Palmieri, Teddy Pendergrass, Diane Reeves, Grover Washington, Jr., Musiq, Manny Oquendo's Conjunto Libre, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Most recently, he has been performing with his ensemble, the Mambo Syndicate. A graduate of Temple University who began studying hand drums with master percussionist Miguel Candia at the age of 9, Batista has been teaching percussion for the Latin American Musicians Association in Philadelphia for over 15 years. Batista has been a Latin Percussion brand endorser and clinician since 1985. In 2015, Batista received a Center Project grant for El Viaje (The Journey), a performance work blending traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms and contemporary Western instrumentation with Afro-Caribbean choreography.
