Soprano Bárbara Padilla, a first runner-up on Season 4 of NBC's America's Got Talent who survived stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma in her young adulthood, returns to the Atkinson Recital Hall stage this weekend as the featured guest for the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra's season-opening concerts. The two performances, titled Voices and Virtuosos, are set for Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., kicking off the orchestra's 65th anniversary season in Southern New Mexico.
Padilla's story is as much about survival as it is about song. As reported by KRWG Public Media, she was told at one point that she would never sing again. According to the University of Houston, Padilla earned her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the school's Moores School of Music in 2004 while undergoing chemotherapy at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, auditioning for and winning a full scholarship despite medical warnings that neck radiation could permanently damage her voice. She had moved from Guadalajara to Texas specifically for specialized cancer treatment before resuming her musical training, per the university.
Modern medicine has made such recoveries increasingly survivable. Survival rates for Hodgkin lymphoma vary according to whether the disease is localized, regional, or distant.
From Reality TV Breakout to International Stages
Padilla's national profile took off in 2009, when she placed as first runner-up on America's Got Talent, finishing behind country singer Kevin Skinner after judge Piers Morgan praised her audition as the single greatest vocal performance in the show's history. Her performances of Puccini's O mio babbino caro generated fan votes during that run, per the university's account of her career. Her path since then has crossed some of the biggest names in Latin and crossover music. The station's report notes she performed with Raul Di Blasio, David Foster, Chris Botti, and Juan Gabriel. Juan Gabriel sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Hoodline previously explored his career in its coverage of a restored Juan Gabriel concert film screening in El Paso later this month. Padilla also performed Con te partiro with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the same song — also known as Time to Say Goodbye — that she is slated to sing in Las Cruces this weekend, written by Francesco Sartori, Frank Peterson, and Lucio Quarantotto.
A Program Built Around Friendship and Local Talent
LCSO Music Director and Principal Conductor Jorge Martinez-Rios called Padilla a dear friend of the community, according to KRWG, and recalled that the two of them have often ended up with him playing piano while she sang.
The Voices and Virtuosos program will also spotlight LCSO orchestra members performing solos and small ensemble works alongside Padilla. Concertmaster Brigid McCarthy is set to perform Meditation from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet — a piece previously recorded by Leila Josefowicz with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under conductor Sir Neville Marriner. Musicians Jesus Candela on flute, Kornel Juhasz on clarinet, and Ron Thurman on bassoon will perform a special arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's Libertango. Padilla herself will sing an aria by Verdi and the classic Besame Mucho in addition to Con te partiro.
A Milestone Season in a Growing Local Arts Scene
The concerts arrive as the LCSO marks 65 years of symphonic music in Southern New Mexico. A benefit luncheon called Meet the Music was held at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, where patrons paid $125 a seat to preview the season alongside Martinez-Rios and Padilla, according to Visit Las Cruces. Atkinson Recital Hall inside the NMSU Music Center, where the weekend's performances will take place, is the concert venue.
Las Cruces' classical music scene has been especially active this month. Just days before LCSO's season opener, former 22-year LCSO music director Lonnie Klein launched a new ensemble, the Festival Orchestra de Las Cruces, whose debut performance was Baroque Concerti Classics on March 10 at St. Paul's Methodist Church; the ensemble later held the Red, White, and Blue All-American Concert at Atkinson Recital Hall on September 6 — a transition Hoodline detailed in its report on the DA-turned-conductor's new venture. Ticket information for LCSO's 2026–2027 season is available through ticketing platform On The Stage.
