Press Release: Raúl selected for 2018 Bruno Walter Nat'l Conducting Preview
For immediate release
Contact: management@raulgomezrojas.com
High-res photos available at http://www.raulgomezrojas.com/media
Raúl Gómez-Rojas,
Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Music Director,
One of Six Conductors Selected to Lead the Nashville Symphony at the
League of American Orchestras
2018 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview
Prestigious Conductor Showcase Takes Place
April 3-4 in Nashville, TN
Free Concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center
on April 4 at 7pm CST will be Live-Streamed
Portland, OR (February 20, 2018) - Raúl Gómez-Rojas, Music Director of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, is one of six highly-skilled and dynamic conductors selected to participate in the League of American Orchestras Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, April 3-4, 2018 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The League’s two-day showcase is one of the field’s most prestigious pathways for orchestra search committees to encounter new talent as they meet the conductors, observe them in rehearsal settings, and experience their high-caliber artistry in person.
Mr. Gómez-Rojas, along with conductors Ankush Kumar Bahl, Mélisse Brunet, Nadège Foofat, Lee Mills, and Lidiya Yankovskaya, will display his versatility by leading the GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony in an eclectic program of selections of works by Beethoven, Bernstein, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, and Kip Winger.
“For more than 20 years, the League’s Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview has been one of the orchestra field’s primary methods for identifying conducting talent, offering a unique opportunity for search committees to experience the breadth of artistry only a showcase setting can provide,” commented Jesse Rosen, League of American Orchestras President and CEO. “We’ve presented the event in Nashville three times in the past nine years alone—a testament to the excellence of the Nashville Symphony and its Music Director, Giancarlo Guerrero, a 2001 Preview alum. The renowned Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a wonderful venue for audiences to experience this diverse array of highly impressive conductors.”
Mr. Gómez-Rojas is in his second season as Music Director of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Portland, OR, where he enjoys working with a large community of conductors, coaches, staff, families and students in 14 orchestra, band and jazz ensembles. He has previously held positions with YOA Orchestra of the Americas, Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra, Premier Orchestral Institute, Louisiana Sinfonietta and Kids' Orchestra (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). A native of Costa Rica, Gómez holds masters and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University, where he studied with Carlos Riazuelo (conducting), Kevork Mardirossian and Espen Lilleslåtten (violin/viola). Additional conducting training includes a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and numerous masterclasses with leading conductors. Recent guest conducting highlights include appearances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, as well as engagements in Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica.
The conductors were chosen by an independent panel of leading music professionals from a pool of nearly 150 applications from around the world, and were selected for their experience, talent, leadership potential, and commitment to a career in service to American orchestras.
The Event:
On April 3 and 4, the six participating conductors will lead the Nashville Symphony in rehearsals, with music director search committee members, artist managers, orchestra executives, artistic administrators, and trustees from League member organizations across the country in attendance. Each conductor will rehearse a 15-minute program of contrasting musical selections to be performed in a free public concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on April 4 at 7 p.m. The event will be streamed live, and made available on-demand for 45 days after posting in order to enable more people in the music industry as well as the general public to experience these exciting conductors in action. The League will also facilitate networking between the conductors and industry professionals, as well as feedback and mentorship by Nashville Symphony musicians and Maestro Guerrero.
History of the Preview:
The Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview has helped catalyze opportunities for conductors’ careers for over 20 years. Since 1995, the Preview has showcased 85 conductors, with more than 50 orchestras engaging participants in conductor/music director appointments as a direct result. Showcase alumni include Mei-Ann Chen, music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta; Alondra de la Parra, music director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Giancarlo Guerrero, music director of the Nashville Symphony; Laura Jackson, music director of the Reno Philharmonic; Carolyn Kuan, music director of Hartford Symphony Orchestra; and Carlos Miguel Prieto, music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the YOA Orchestra of the Americas. The Preview last took place in 2016 in Nashville, TN, and, in 2013, in Jacksonville, FL.
Registration, Tickets, and More Information
League of American Orchestras members must register to attend the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, including rehearsals on April 3 and 4; a complimentary tour of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center; a luncheon with expert Henry Fogel, dean and distinguished professor of the arts at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts; an evening concert on April 4 at 7 p.m.; and a post-concert reception. Register here.
The general public may reserve tickets for the free evening concert on April 4 through the Nashville Symphony’s website (https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/conductorpreview) or by calling the Nashville Symphony Box Office at 615 687 6400.
Media interested in covering the two-day event: please contact Rachelle Schlosser, the League’s Director of Media Relations and Communications: rschlosser@americanorchestras.org
For more information, including links to conductor bios and details, when available, about the live-streamed concert: https://americanorchestras.org/BrunoWalter
The 2018 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview is made possible by a generous gift from Martha Rivers Ingram. Additional support is provided by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions America’s orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. Its diverse membership of more than 2,000 organizations and individuals across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned orchestras to community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles, from conservatories to libraries, from businesses serving orchestras to individuals who love symphonic music. The only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge and innovation, advocacy, and leadership advancement. Its conferences and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, website, and other publications inform people around the world about orchestral activity and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors, managers and administrators, board members, volunteers, and business partners. Visit americanorchestras.org.
The Metropolitan Youth Symphony provides music education and performance opportunities for young musicians of all ages and levels of experience. Now in its 44th year, MYS enrolls over 500 youth from the Portland Metro and SW Washington areas in 14 ensembles including orchestra, band, jazz, and percussion. Additionally, MYS offers theory classes, a mid-winter chamber music program, and a one-week summer chamber music camp, Portland Summer Ensembles. MYS has a strong financial aid program that welcomes all students regardless of their financial circumstances, a tuition-free Beginning Strings program with classes on Saturday in Portland and after school in Hillsboro, and a school outreach program that performs 15 in-school concerts each season for over 5,000 students from under-served schools. Visit playmys.org.
The GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony has earned an international reputation for its innovative programming and its commitment to performing, recording and commissioning works by America’s leading composers. The Nashville Symphony has released 29 recordings on Naxos, which have received 24 GRAMMY® nominations and 13 GRAMMY® Awards, making it one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. The orchestra has also released recordings on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and New West Records, among other labels. With more than 140 performances annually, the orchestra offers a broad range of classical, pops and jazz, and children’s concerts, while its extensive education and community engagement programs reach 60,000 children and adults each year.
Photo Credit: Richard Kolbell
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