From Stage to Strategy: A Musical Makeover

Join host Emily Bron in ‘The Age of Reinvention’ as she welcomes extraordinary guest Cathy Barrow, an acclaimed violinist and marketing maestro. Discover how Cathy balances her multifaceted career, from classical music performances to entrepreneurial ventures, and her innovative use of AI in her work. Listen to her fascinating journey living in Central Mexico, navigating challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her unique approach to making classical music accessible and relevant. This enlightening episode explores courage, change, and finding purpose in midlife. Don’t miss Cathy’s inspiring story of reinvention, filled with passion, resilience, and a melodious touch!

TIMESTAMPS:
02:31 Welcome to the Age of Reinvention
03:14 Meet Kathy Barrow: A Renaissance Woman
05:01 The Intersection of Marketing and Music
06:35 The Importance of Self-Promotion
10:53 Balancing Multiple Facets of a Career
12:29 Innovating Classical Music for Modern Audiences
13:23 The Role of Classical Music in Business
14:51 Self-Promotion and Patronage
17:59 Travel and Music: A Perfect Harmony
22:15 Embracing AI in the Music Industry
23:17 Gandhi and Mozart: Unlikely Parallels
25:32 Memorable Performances and Public Speaking
28:36 The Evolution of Classical Music in Mexico
33:09 A Journey of Personal and Professional Transformation
36:48 The Power of Reinvention and Embracing Change
46:17 Concluding Thoughts and Future Episodes

Emily Bron: Welcome to the Age of Reinvention, where we explore the art of living boldly, embracing change, and finding purpose in midlife. I’m your host, Emily Bron. Today, we are tuned into the harmonious music world of Reinvention with an extraordinary guest, Cathy Barrow. The melodies of life are as complex and beautiful as any symphony, and our guest today is a master conductor of her destiny.

She’s an American violinist who has lived for many years in Central Mexico. A virtuoso in classical music and a maestro of entrepreneurship. A three time Top Entrepreneur Award winner by great companies India and an acclaimed independent music professional, Cathy Barrow has orchestrated a career that resonates with passion and purpose.

Cathy has dedicated her life to perfecting the art of classical performance, enlightening education, and above all, sharing the timeless beauty of classical music with the world. Get ready to be inspired. As we pull back the curtain and dive into a conversation with Cathy Barrow. Welcome to the Age of Reinvention podcast, Cathy.

It’s truly a pleasure to have you with us today. Really nice to be here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Cathy. Your LinkedIn recommendations describe you as a Renaissance woman, navigating roles. From marketing specialist to violinist and artistic director. What is your secret? to wearing so many hats so successfully.

Cathy Barrow: And I reopened my travel agent travel agency on the 1st of May. There, I think it’s like the tree in the forest. If the tree in the forest falls and there’s nobody around, does it make a sound? So I honestly believe that marketing goes hand in hand with performing, because if you don’t help people find out about your concert, Is anyone going to hear it?

And so that’s why I actually started this for myself about, I would say seven or eight years ago marketing my own concerts. And then during COVID, since I couldn’t market my own concerts and I couldn’t work my travel agency, I just learned. And so by actually, I’m happy to say, as of a month ago, I work in a In how many different continents now?

For as an artistic designer, for posts for for people. I work in Australia, Spain, England, and the United States. Four different, four different, three different continents.

Emily Bron: So what is the secret? Yeah, I know that you are all over the world, but what is it? I don’t know.

Cathy Barrow: They all go together. It’s if you’re a musician and you have to depend on somebody else to do your marketing, the other person could fail.

That’s how I actually started. I hired somebody. I paid them a lot of money three times. The first time it was great. We made tons of money. The second, I broke even in the third, I lost. the equivalent of a month and a half of my salary in the orchestra because he just didn’t do his job. And so I figured it can’t be so hard.

It can’t be so hard to do it. So I started doing my own publicity. And that’s really how the quartet has survived and flourished because I don’t have to pay someone to do the publicity. I do it myself.

Emily Bron: So it’s happened out of the need, but I believe that music is still your main passion and industry.

And even you’ve had such a multi faceted career in the music industry. Could you share with us the moment you realized that music was your calling?

Cathy Barrow: I wouldn’t, I’m going to go back to your last comment. I wouldn’t actually say it’s a need. It’s desire to have more people hear us.

And so it’s, it wasn’t actually monetary. It’s who wants to play for an empty concert hall? And I remember once a friend of mine, he called me up. He was in a really good string quartet and I sent him. Actually, I sent his string quartet to China on a mini tour of China at one point and he said, come to my concert, come to my concert.

And I went to the concert. I was the only person in the audience and how sad can you completely, when you completely depend on somebody else. And so you can practice, practice, rehearse and rehearse. And if you don’t know somebody’s going to show up, how are you going to feel? For example, the last two concerts I played were in really nice hotels.

And the first one, the place, I won’t name names, the place sold three tickets. I sold 40. The second one sold three tickets. I sold 37. And so if I had relied on them, my quartet would have quit. Because the reason we play is to play but also to be heard. And so this is why I really started all of this. It wasn’t so much a need as who can play for an empty audience.

Who can do that? No,

Emily Bron: no, I need, need to develop it to actually to spread the music globally. And I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t use the correct word, but I really commend you for this because not so many musician can do it. Let’s be honest because in this case, you need completely different entrepreneurial spirit and, some kind of courage and different skills rather than only musical skills.

I

Cathy Barrow: would say it’s more just courage than anything else. Cause I remember, and it was really quite maybe 10 years. People started writing to me saying that video was really good. And I said, Oh, that means like nine years of videos weren’t. That someone said my video was good. And now I’ll knock wood when I say it, I’m so good at it that with $10 or $15, three days before I can fill a concert.

So I’ll wait and I’ll see what the business, with the hotel or the restaurant is doing, what kind of publicity they’re doing. If they haven’t done well, I do it myself, 15, 20 and I fill the concert, because I don’t like to play for an empty hall. I think that’s where it, that’s where it really came from.

You can’t, and you can’t ask your musicians to say, Oh, we’re going to go play here. Nobody’s there. Oh, we’re going to play here. Nobody’s there. They quit. After a while you’ve got to make your musicians happy. Playing a beautiful concert in a nice hall is one thing, playing a beautiful concert in a nice hall.

When there’s three people in the audience, that’s another. So that’s why I would say that musicians really have to do this It’s not so hard to do. It’s really not so hard. It’s a question of Getting off the high horse and saying okay I’m going to do my own marketing and then you start getting your own fan club and then people start hiring you Because you pull in people.

Emily Bron: Cathy, I believe your next hat would be opening a promotional agency for musicians.

Cathy Barrow: Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’ve started to offer, I’ve almost finished writing a book about how to promote your events, and I’m offering a monthly fee to help people. To teach people how to do it and also give them a platform where they can pull in their leads, create their own web pages, do all of that.

Because it is, it’s like a 40 step process to promote your own events. And you really gotta, you’ve gotta think about what you’re doing all the time. And have a schedule. You have to have a schedule.

Emily Bron: Amazing, amazing. So your work spans music performances, educational activities, as far as I know, and notably promotion of classical music around the globe.

How do you balance these different facets of your career while ensuring that each gets the attention it deserves?

Cathy Barrow: It’s really easy because you can’t do one thing for a long time. You can’t practice eight hours a day. You absolutely can’t. You can’t learn for eight hours a day. You can’t do graphic design for eight hours a day.

You can do it for five hours. And and the beautiful thing about doing one thing for five hours is, You’re not doing one thing for eight hours, so you’re not worn out.

Emily Bron: Okay, so it’s your way to diversify your activities and talents, actually.

Cathy Barrow: Yeah, people burn out. People really burn out. So like on a normal vacation day, let’s just talk about a normal vacation day.

What are you going to do? Swim for eight hours? No. You’re going to swim maybe an hour in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, that maybe or maybe a little bit longer, and then you’re going to eat, and then you’re, but you can’t eat for eight hours, and so you’re going to do this. And so if you treat your work life the way you would treat a vacation, it’s very similar.

As a travel agent, people will write and I’ll take care of them at that moment. But I can’t do graphic design for eight hours. Maybe if I’m on a roll I will but you can’t do graphic design or figure out what you’re going to post for people for eight hours a stretch. You do it when you feel like it, and you see how long it takes you.

And that’s the whole trick to it.

Emily Bron: But it’s amazing that you can do all of it yourself being I would say self sufficient and multi faced and considering your significant contribution to music and art, how do you approach innovation in classical music to make it relevant and appealing?

To, to these audiences.

Cathy Barrow: Oh, that’s, there’s two points here and I’ll get, but go back to the marketing one first. Two of the places that I’ve played in the last month, they have no clients. None. Their marketing is not up to where it should be. And so I go into these places on a Sunday afternoon, it should be full.

There’s nobody there half an hour before the concert starts, all the people start coming in, they stay for the concert and they leave. And so when you hire my classical music group, you fill your hall. And you fill your business. And so if it’s a restaurant it’s really amazing. I played, I tend to play on Sunday nights when Sunday evenings, when the people are leaving and nobody’s usually there, so I help restaurants and hotels earn money, which is something that class of the music.

used to do. Classical music used to be, there’s a theater in every castle that you can imagine. So this is what classical music used to be. Not playing in a little corner. It’s always having a cup of wine in your hand and listening to something up close and being part of what’s going on. I think a classical music concert is not a concert without a wine toast afterwards.

Emily Bron: It’s a nice, nice addition to every musical event. And I really again, commend you for creating such environment and such, I would say, marketing techniques, attracting this exactly people who would appreciate, Classical music and high scale, environment, because again, in our world where there are so many different distractions and for young people and not so young, you found this exactly niche and you do it right.

Very professional. And you’ve made a notable impact as independent music professional, and I would say producer, especially in engaging small to mid sized companies with classical music can you tell us more about how this partnerships come to life and the impact on community musicians.

Cathy Barrow: That’s a good question. About two and a half years ago when I started this, I had a series of patrons and I’ve had from an Irish company to an Israeli translation service to a loan company from the United States to an investment in England to an import, export company here in Mexico.

And I had To be honest, I had some problems with some of them because they weren’t, once I started looking into them, they perhaps weren’t the right perfect match for a classical music concert. And so I started thinking about it. I’m so good at promoting other companies. Why am I promoting other companies when I have my own travel agency?

And so in May, I started promoting my own concerts and investing in my own concerts in May, June, and July. I sold about $50,000. worth of travel through promoting it in my concerts. And so I’m thinking perhaps I might not ask for any more patrons because I know how to do it now. And I think I’m just going to patronize myself.

And the first time it was really funny. The first time I patronized one of my own concerts, I was really embarrassed because I didn’t have a patron. This was like seven, five, six years ago. I didn’t have a patron. And so I get up on the stage and I said the patron of today’s concert is Viajar a Tu Gusto.

I don’t know where it’s a travel agency. If anyone would like to buy something. And of course, nobody bought because I didn’t talk any more about it. And then I finally get up at the stage and it was a really scary stage. Cause I couldn’t see the audience. There’s a completely black audience and I couldn’t see.

There was, it was strange. There was light on the stage, but it was completely black in the audience. So I couldn’t see the reaction at all. And so I said to 120 people, I said today’s patron is me and I own a travel agency. And if you’d like to buy something saying that to 120 people was just terrifying.

And I sold, I think 2, 000 that day. just that day from that concert. And so that’s when I started thinking I think I’ll think I’ll just do it on my own. And I also, I went I went to right after I decided to be my own patron, I went to a class on how to become an influencer. That’s what I’m working on now, because I have 60, 000 fans, and I want to get it up to at least 100, 000.

I went to this influencer, and all these people, like these big time influencers, millions of fans, Oh, I’m really interested in what you do. Can we work together? Because classical music is not found on social media. There’s very few, and so when you do actually have classical music, it pulls And so I would say to people who are listening, if you want to get your, if you want to get your business out there, find a classical group to, to patronize.

I can tell you exactly the conditions you need so you won’t be pushed under a rug. So you’ll actually get something for your money for patronizing or do it yourself. Just find out how to do it. And most musicians do have other jobs or perhaps other businesses. Just promote your own business.

Amazing and tell now a little

Emily Bron: bit about your travel agency. What kind of travel you’re selling? and Actually, I believe you can already sell some Musical trips. Yes. I don’t know if it’s exist in No, because there are company and i’m following one in uk from the former opera performers and not only opera and they sell musical trips.

They organize, these trips to the main festivities in Europe, the main festivals of classical music. What kind of travel you are offering as of now?

Cathy Barrow: Oh I actually work with a friend of mine who’s a travel agent and we did a three day weekend to Querétaro, it was like four hours away and so what she did was she rented a little minivan, she took about 25 people and they did a whole tour of Querétaro and everything else and the last night was a concert in the hotel that they, that we were all staying at.

And so we are planning on doing another one. So we’ll do San Luis Potosi, Puebla and Toluca. And they’ll stay one night. It’s a chain. It’s a hotel chain that’s in all three cities. So they’ll stay one night or two nights in San Luis and other two nights in Puebla and they’ll end in Toluca.

with a concert when they arrive. And so that’s how we’ve been including the classical music because another thing that’s making classical music hard for people is you have to go to a very serious concert hall and it’s, you can’t talk and you can’t breathe and you have to really understand what the music is.

And. My concerts are very different. I do play in some very nice, very small halls for 120 people. But I talk through the concert. And I don’t sit there and say, okay, ready to go to sleep now? Mozart was born in such and such a year. And he wrote this piece when he was seven years old and going on like this like this.

What I do is I. Talk about the person. For example, Schubert, when he wrote Death and the Maiden, he just found out that he had syphilis. And that’s why he wrote it. And how did he feel knowing how he was going to die? very shortly and all the angst that went into that piece. And so this is what I, this is what I talk about.

And then I talk about like the original song that goes into the quartet and why it’s one of the most famous ones. And so I bring the person who’s the composer into what we’re doing, which is why we play. And this is what the audience should know. It’s educational project. Like from my perspective music, it’s emotional.

It’s like bridging the. bridging the gap. For example one, one story that I really like to tell is there was this kid there’s this guy and what he remembers about being a kid is how hungry he always was and how his clothes stank and how the empress of Austria almost castrated him when his voice changed.

And she made fun of him when she kicked him out of the choir and his parents decided he would never be good for anything. This kid was a disaster from day one. So what kind of music would he write, right? And it’s Haydn. It’s that most cheerful, happy music. It’s not Oh, I’ve suffered my whole life.

You want to hear it? No, it’s completely different. So you talk about the person and you talk about sometimes the person like Beethoven, sometimes the person goes with the kind of music they write and sometimes it doesn’t. Then why? I wish to participate

Emily Bron: in like in life. In your trip and concerts, and I understand that you bring your quartet to this kind of travel events like it’s really amazing.

And it’s coming to my next question. In light of the global challenges poised at the beginning by COVID and the impact of emerging AI technologies. Which I know many artists from different, industries or art communities fearing of, and especially for the performing arts. You already mentioned, but in addition, how have you adapted your career?

and creative output during these times.

Cathy Barrow: Oh, I love AI. I spend all my time studying AI. I’m just absolutely. So for example, I, we have a concert coming up, just a basic. thing that AI is great for. We have a concert coming up on the 9th, but we have a big concert on the 12th. And I was like what are we going to play?

They said, it’s going to have to be something about the heavens. It’s going to have to be something about the stars. So I asked AI, I said, give me a good program that has to do with the stars. And it just happened to mention the piece we’re going to be playing on the 12th. And then I said can we play this piece as well?

They said, yeah, you can do this. And one of my best examples was, I was playing for the ambassador for South Africa and India, and it was the anniversary. It was the anniversary of the death of Gandhi. It’s a really big deal. And, the ambassadors are there. And they said to me, if you don’t speak well, we’ll shut you up.

And I said, Oh my God. And they’re going to shut me up on the stage and you’re going to say, I can’t talk anymore. Okay. So I had to talk about what Gandhi And the magic flute, Mozart, have in common. I had no idea, and so I read like a whole book on Gandhi. I read another whole book on Mozart, and I still had no idea.

And so I asked Chachi Pitti, I said, what do they have in common? And the whole, they wrote the whole speech for me. It was absolutely perfect. I had a standing ovation. I had a line congratulating me after the concert. They have absolutely nothing in common, but their beliefs were similar. What Mozart was trying to say in the Magic Flute and what Gandhi did with his life are very similar ideas.

And so I could go through each of the arias that we played and talk about it in that way.

Emily Bron: Amazing example. And I like your enthusiasm and how you embracing and actually take the best from what AI technology can be offering us now, because, on the other note, I recently I was part of podcasting marketing academy group, and I can mention that eh, one of the.

A participant’s members was a young opera performer from Prague, and she pointed out how hard it’s now for, opera performers and for other musicians to find their way in the theatrical or music world, like I was just listening. Reading her note and what she did. And she’s looking through the podcasting how to bring this new technology to the world of other people and how to find actually.

Her way and maybe way for other composers and opera performers and classical musicians to this new world where many artists actually left without work they were Passionate about and your example is just I think brilliant and I understand it’s all Kind of individual way of finding and I really like this story and You work with the Art Music String Quartet.

Yes, it’s and your project has been recognized globally. You share now example of your performance in India.

Cathy Barrow: Mexico City, but it was for the ambassador of India and South Africa, but it was in Mexico City, or it wasn’t clear

Emily Bron: Oh in Mexico City, can you share maybe one of the most memorable projects?

And Why it stand out to you?

Cathy Barrow: Spanish is my second language. Okay? and I didn’t like speaking in public. And I will give this as a bit of advice. Also, it was also in the same theater, the same hall. I was playing for another ambassador. I can’t remember who the ambassador was and the meeting went way over.

We were going to be like the end of the whole event. It was a, it was an event for female artists in Mexico. It was like a prize for the best female. And it went way over time. I had spent two years at that point studying how to speak in public and one of the first, one of my first teachers, he took me all over the state.

It was so funny. He gave me free classes. He was an amazing teacher because I was the comic relief of every class because I couldn’t play after I spoke. And I had no idea what I was saying in Spanish because it’s one thing, you know how hard it is, you know how hard it is to speak in public and then have it not be your language.

And it’s really hard to do. And so the first couple of times it’s really terrible. And as a violinist, it’s the, it’s a different part of your brain. And so I had to learn how to switch instantly from one side to the other. And so he’d say, talk about a boat going down the river and why you should be on it, then play something.

And I couldn’t, I’d pick up the violin and I would just be like this. And so one of my, one of my high points when I knew that I was a better speaker was this concert where. where it was going way over time and people were getting ready to leave. And so I ran down to the door and I had just read that if you promise something you’ve got to deliver but if you promise something maybe you’ll keep their attention.

People were already heading towards the door. I barred the door and I said please everyone sit down. The event’s not over and I promise you, you’re going to have a really good time with what I’m about to say. And I was like, please God, let that be true. And so they looked at me like, okay, she’s crazy.

The blonde hair Alps and the Spanish Alps. And so they sat down and they gave me about two minutes to win them over and I won them over. But that was a really scary one because if I had failed in those two minutes, it would have been, It would have been just completely done. And another one that was another disaster that worked out really well was I was playing a concert, which I actually really love at the American dream, but it’s a hard concert to play in Mexico because people don’t want to hear it.

Yeah, and I was playing it and I was, it was Thanksgiving, like the, Superbowl and everything else. And so I played the American anthem and there was absolute silence afterwards. Nobody. And everyone just sat there and said, I really regret being here. You could just see it on everybody’s face.

And I had to change everything I was about to say in the next hour. And I did. And I talked about how this is actually interesting, how the American dream was created by people who were foreigners who loved America so much that they created The visuals and the sounds that go with the United States as it is today.

And so that’s how I changed the entire, you have to be, you also, if you’re doing this, you’ve got to be flexible and you’ve got to play with your audience.

Emily Bron: And tell me now, please, the topics that I’m always interested about. cultural and musical world of Mexico. And for me, you, one of the actual ambassadors of Mexican culture to, international platforms.

So how you would evaluate it, maybe without comparison with Americans, but because what I found speaking about art, there’s a lot of interesting trends in Mexico. And I noticed it, in different exhibition, speaking about music. I know that there are groups, orchestras, opera theatres, but what would say, what you would say after living for, what, 30 years?

40 years in Mexico? How you would evaluate the art and musical world and its development over the time?

Cathy Barrow: There’s a book that I read, I’m not changing the subject, there’s a book that I read and it was actually made into a mini series, Mozart in the Jungle, and the first 40, 50 pages talk about why classical music was created in the United States.

And I’ll shorten it, and I’ll, don’t, if the writer ever listens to this, I actually know the writer I’ll shorten it into one sentence. The United States created all of the orchestras.

Emily Bron: No, you speak about North America, because, sorry, classical music was created in Europe. Orchestra and all this tradition.

The

Cathy Barrow: orchestras, we started. Becoming all over the place in conservatories and everything else to prove to Europe that the United States wasn’t a cowboy country. And about 40 or 50 years later, the same thing happened in Mexico. And so the Mexican government it was more a government thing in Mexico than in the United States.

The Mexican government started supporting orchestras to prove to the rest of the world that we’re not cowboys. And so we would the Mexican government would send orchestras all over the world to prove that Mexico has this amazing culture. And it’s very interesting that two of the most popular pieces, one of them, the Danzón of Márquez.

Márquez is still alive. That really doesn’t happen in other countries that you have this completely, unbelievably famous, living composerthat is heard all over the world, that’s played by orchestras all over the world. And so for about 50, 60 years, Mexico loved classical music. Now it’s becoming like the United States that it’s starting to forget.

We’re about 20 years behind the United States. So it’s starting to forget why Mexico loved classical music, which is a great opportunity for someone like me. I never, I don’t believe in tragedy. I absolutely do not believe in tragedy. So when the government starts patronizing musicians less, you get the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería and you have it become more and more famous every year, because since it’s a private orchestra and it’s privately funded, they’re getting more and more money because the other orchestras aren’t getting the budget that they used to.

And so they get the amazing soloists, their concerts are sold out. It’s absolutely fantastic. what’s starting to happen in the private sector of Mexico because as the government patronizes less and less, people want classical music and it’s starting to really rise in the private sector where you didn’t have anything before because the government took care of all the musicians.

Emily Bron: Can you tell that Mexico now attracting international musician to come to Mexico and work, in Mexico City Opera, like Metropolitan, or like it’s trends of this kind? It,

Cathy Barrow: it’s it’s interesting. That’s an interesting question because when all of these orchestras were founded, I would say between 1940 and 1980.

Okay. There weren’t enough musicians to play in the orchestras. There weren’t enough Mexican musicians. And so foreigners like myself were fortunately very lucky for me invited to, to come and play that doesn’t happen anymore. There’s so many really amazing Mexican. That there’s no need for foreigners to come in.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a foreigner come and be invited to play in an orchestra and stay. Maybe 25, 30 years ago.

Emily Bron: Good for Mexico. And I’m fun of Mexico and a little bit about your, even it’s long ago, expatriate story when it happened, why it happened now, I understand because of invitation, a little bit about your relocation journey.

Cathy Barrow: I

Emily Bron: was.

Cathy Barrow: 22 or 23 years old and I had studied everything. I’d studied piano, guitar, flute singing, oboe percussion. I’d studied and I studied conducting and I actually studied conducting. for three years in, in the university. And I studied with someone, he he was the conductor of the orchestra in the university that I went to.

But he also was a singer in Toscanini’s choir. And so I got to hear some of the really fun stories from him. But I got to my final exam and I conducted the orchestra that I was actually playing in. And I hated it. It was just too much power for me. And I stopped doing it. I got through my final exam and I quit.

And, but I understood conductors and I had a lot of conductor friends and I understood that the hell that they go through being a conductor. And so a conductor friend of mine said, there’s this summer festival in Maine, the Monter Festival. You want to come? I said, I don’t do that anymore. I’m never conducting again.

He said no, we need musicians in the orchestra. You don’t have to get on the podium. You can just play and you can learn and you can watch us suffer. I said, okay. So I went and there were three. amazing Mexican students at the time there. And one of them was, is one of the best conductors that ever came out of Mexico.

And he’s conducted all over the world. He was just unbelievably famous. And I said, if these are the students, I want to live in that country. And so when they invited me to come, I said, yeah, sure. Great. And I’m still really good friends with two of them. It’s really funny. Two of the students that that I studied with 39 years ago, I’m still good friends with.

Emily Bron: They’re not students anymore. And

Cathy Barrow: Owners of orchestras. And the guy was telling you about Enrique de Mec. He’s conducted all over the world. He became one of the most famous Mexican conductors of all time.

Emily Bron: And your life became really And I remember I asked you once, like, how do you feel you’re Mexican or American after so many years living in heart of Mexico, I would say in geographic heart and working with many industries.

How you would identify

Cathy Barrow: yourself? My personality changes according to the language, and I think according to the emotion that I’m feeling. So I don’t know if this happens to you when I’m being emotional, I think in Spanish, and when I’m being analytical, I think in English. And so it depends on what I’m doing, which language is there.

I very rarely spanglish. It’s one language or the other. There’s a couple of words like with the Americans here that they go with what we’re doing if we’re speaking in English, but we’re talking about the orchestra, for example we will spanglish a little bit. I tend to be black and white for health reasons, unfortunately.

I have to spend about at least half the year now in the United States. That’s a new one for me and I’m learning how to get back into United States culture, which I’m slowly getting into. I still love Mexico unbelievably. And I go up to the United States. For example, I, on the 12th of October, I don’t have concerts for about three weeks.

And so I go up during that time and then plan the next couple of concerts and then come back down to do it. So I love Mexico. I’m learning how to like. My ex country again.

Emily Bron: Oh, you need effort. Yeah. It’s a lot of changes. And finally for our listeners thinking about reinventing their careers in midlife or following the passions and interests later in life, what advice would you give based on your experiences of Transformation and success in different

Cathy Barrow: industries.

I’ll give a personal example that just happened. I almost died a month ago. I had an allergic reaction and my 93 year old mother saved me. She was the one who called the ambulance. And it’s been hard. It’s been really hard because they’re not, quite sure exactly what’s wrong with me.

And it turns out that I’m one of the healthiest women of my age that they’ve ever seen, but they can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. So the fight has been interesting, the fight to, to continue going. And I also just retired from the orchestra. And so the change. My life. It’s been probably three of the hardest months of my life.

I’ve never been as scared as I am right now, and I’ve never been happier. And so I would say you wake up every day and you say, Oh, how am I going to get through today? And then when you get through it, and not only do you get through it, But you’ve done something really good. You just pat yourself on the back 10 times more than you would have when you were 20.

And for example, here I am, 61 years old, marketing was my hobby! It was my hobby, and now I have some really high end clients, and I, A friend of mine just referred to me the owner of B& I Eastern Spain and so I got in a meeting with him And he said yeah, okay. I’ll hire you and I’m like, this is my hobby This is my hobby and I’ve got one of the biggest most important.

Clients in the world and he’s I said, It’s Castilian Spanish. He said, you’ll learn it.

Emily Bron: Because you have musical ears. No,

Cathy Barrow: Castilian Spanish is like a whole completely different conjugation and the words are different and he’s just loving how much I’m trying. And so it’s actually working.

And so I think when you’re our age and you actually really try to do something different and People really appreciate the effort. I was at dinner with a rotary club the other day, and it was really funny. One of the people at the table, he owns 12 airplanes, four helicopters. He looked at me and he said, of all the people sitting here at this table, I think Cathy’s the only one who took advantage of COVID because she spent her time learning and hats off to you is what he said.

When you’re over 50 you’ve got the time and you just, all you have to do is you just got to sit down and you’ve got to learn it. I knew nothing about anything in 2014 and I got my first job as a marketer in June of 2020. I just didn’t sleep for six months and I managed to get it.

But I knew nothing before I did it. And I’m really lucky now because I’m one of the few people who’s got four years experience. under her belt in spite of how old I am. I’ve got the four years, the age does, marketing, it’s an all male 25 year old market. All the guys, most of the people who are marketers and most of the people who are inventing programs and things like that, they’re young, they’re under 30 and they’re men.

Emily Bron: So you have advantage being a woman above 50, obviously, because like your experience Living experience, musical whatever industry you took over, travel, and being you, Cathy Barrow nobody can do it.

Cathy Barrow: Yeah, it’s, and it’s really fun because there’s this whole new world out there, to be afraid of AI no, just find one little thing, and some of the best times I’ve had, and it sounds really funny, I met this guy once, and I was in a Zoom with him, he was in England, and he’s You like programs?

I like programs too. And it turned like into this almost like pornographic thing. It was like, Oh! Have you seen this program? This is really great. And we got to the end and we’re like, Can we do this next week? I’ll find some new programs we can play with, right? And it’s It’s an amazing new world out there.

It’s just, it’s not to, It’s not to be, Afraid of it’s just you can be a kid again And I think men are very good at being kids with toys, you know I think when we just have to learn to be a little more kid with toys There’s a cruise that i’m dying to take that goes every january that they sell pizza on the cruise because Nobody’s ever going to sleep because they’re just going to be geeking all the time.

And it’s an entire cruise, just full of geeks. And you have to pass the geek test. You just can’t go, you’ve got to pass the geek test and you have to prove that you’re willing to learn other stuff. And it’s just it’s like a musician who finds they just discovered a new piece by Mozart and it was just performed about two, two weeks ago.

And it went like viral all over the place. It’s a trio. It’s a piano trio, violin, cello and piano. And they just performed it. Can you imagine? How that would have felt. That’s what we just have to bring to the new things. It doesn’t have to just be the old things.

Emily Bron: You’re amazing. Every time I’m speaking with you and now it’s a big gap, I think even a couple of years, I see the new Cathy.

I see person full of passion, new projects, new ideas. And as far as I realize today, you’re going now through your new rediscovery. And it’s a. process. Yes. And I wish you the best and thank you very much for coming. And actually enlightening all of us with your stories.

Cathy Barrow: I would just find at the say at the end, AI is not to be afraid of.

It’s really not to be afraid of. If you just want to create a really fun poster for your concert, just go to AI and ask. It’s not, it’s there. It’s there to help. It’s not to hinder. And I will say two things. I read in a book actually, of AI that in 1927. The musicians sued the theaters because talkies were coming into the movie theaters.

And so there were 85, 000 musicians who were working in the silent movie theaters up until 1927 until the talkies came in. And they spent a fortune trying to block the talkies instead of learning how to do something else. And when Henry Ford came along and all of these hundreds of thousands of people were selling.

Saddles and stirrups and carriages and buggies for horses. They all disappeared within 20 years. You can’t stop change. AI is not the first time, the yellow pages, AI is not the first time that something’s disappeared and something’s changed. And it’s the people who try and don’t try to stop it, are the ones who get ahead the best.

Emily Bron: It’s a fear of change, which stops many people, even unrecognizable. And yes, having your courage. It’s a key to success.

Cathy Barrow: Curiosity. I wouldn’t say courage. Courage helps, but curiosity is a really good thing to have.

Emily Bron: Absolutely agree.

Thank you, Cathy. Thank you very much. Good luck to you in each of your projects.

Cathy Barrow: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Emily Bron: What an enlightening and melodious journey we’ve shared today. Cathy Barrow, thank you for gracing our Age of Reinvention stage and sharing your harmonic perspective on life, music, and the beautiful interlude of midlife reinvention.

We hope today’s episode has sparked a chord with our listeners. Reminding you that it’s always possible to compose a new chapter in your life score. Whether you are crescendoing into a new venture or moving into a reflective path, Remember that the music of your life is yours to create. Be sure to tune to our next episode for more stories of courage, change, and reinvention.

I’m Emily Bron. Remember, midlife is not a crisis, it is crescendo. Let your life think it unique melody. Thank you for listening, and until next time, keep harmonizing with the symphony of your life.

Cathy Barrow

International Musician & Social Media Strategist | Helping Creatives & Entrepreneurs Build Influence Online

Cathy Barrow is an internationally recognized musician and the Artistic Director of Cuarteto Ars Musik, with over a decade of experience in cultural and corporate events. Beyond the stage, she is a skilled social media strategist and digital marketing expert, helping artists, entrepreneurs, and businesses build powerful online presences.

With a deep understanding of storytelling—whether through music or content creation—Cathy specializes in branding, audience growth, and digital engagement. Her work has earned her prestigious accolades, including the Great Companies International Women Entrepreneur Award (2024) and the Great Companies Global Business Award (2022).

She offers digital marketing consulting, private and corporate music performances, and brand visibility strategies, empowering creatives and businesses to connect with the right audiences and scale their impact.

In a world where the ever-evolving narrative of life offers countless opportunities for change, reinvention takes center stage. Often mistakenly viewed as a plateau, midlife can be a crescendo of new beginnings and vibrant undertakings. This week on “The Age of Reinvention,” Emily Bron hosts an inspiring conversation with Cathy Barrow, an American violinist who has become a maestro of her destiny in Central Mexico.

Harmony of Passion and Purpose

Cathy Barrow is not just a violinist but a virtuoso of reinvention. She has carved out a unique path, synthesizing her love for classical music with entrepreneurial vigour. With accolades such as the Top Entrepreneur Award from Great Companies India and an acclaimed career as an independent music professional, Cathy has dedicated her life to mastering the violin and sharing classical music with the world.

The Instruments of Reinvention

Throughout the conversation, Cathy shares insights into her dynamic career journey. Initially motivated by necessity, Cathy’s transition from performer to entrepreneurial marketer was fueled by a desire to fill concert halls and share her passion. Her journey underscores the importance of self-reliance and adaptability. Rather than relying solely on external marketers, Cathy embraced her own potential for promotion, ultimately fostering a global presence thanks to her ventures across multiple continents.

Concerts as a Canvas for Community

One of the most enchanting elements of Cathy’s narrative is her approach to classical music as a communal and interactive experience. Rejecting the rigid formalities often associated with classical performances, she engages her audiences with personal anecdotes about composers and their works, bridging past and present. This approach revitalizes the classical music scene and helps support local businesses, emphasizing Cathy’s role as a musician and community advocate.

Marketing Maestro

Reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey, Cathy speaks candidly about the importance of resourcefulness and innovation. Her experiences filling concert venues and pivoting her travel agency to promote her concerts highlight the endless possibilities of reinvention. Cathy’s story serves as a beacon to those seeking to navigate the complexities of career transformation, offering lessons in courage, adaptability, and ongoing learning.

Evolving with the Times

In the face of global challenges like COVID-19 and the rise of AI, Cathy demonstrates a forward-thinking mindset. Her embracement of AI as a supportive tool rather than a threat exemplifies her progressive outlook and willingness to integrate technology with creativity. Her enthusiasm for AI’s potential to enhance the classical music landscape is a testament to her belief in embracing change rather than resisting it.

A Call to Action for Midlife Melodies

Ending the podcast with a powerful message, Emily Bron notes that midlife is not a crisis but a crescendo. Cathy’s journey exemplifies this philosophy, illustrating that it’s never too late to embark on new ventures and redefine success. Whether it’s pursuing passion projects or innovating within one’s existing career, Cathy’s experiences remind us that the music of life is an ongoing composition, with each note offering a new opportunity for growth.

In Conclusion

As we reflect on Cathy Barrow’s story, may we be inspired to pick up the baton of reinvention and compose our own unique melodies in midlife? Let the lessons of courage, curiosity, and change resonate as we embrace the symphony of possibilities. Tune in to future episodes of “The Age of Reinvention” for more stories of transformation and inspiration. Remember, the life you seek is within your reach – all it takes is a bit of courage and a dash of creativity to orchestrate your new beginning.