Meet the Candidate: Alejandro Gómez Guillén
- Date April 30th, 2024 Time 11:30am Venue Illini Country Club
Get Involved with the ISO! This season your Illinois Symphony Orchestra will be led by FOUR distinguished guest conductors vying to be our next Music Director. It's YOUR turn to be part of the ISO's legacy and help us select our next Music Director.
Get to know conductor candidate Alejandro Gómez Guillén while enjoying a delectable lunch with other music enthusiasts at this special lunchtime series hosted by the Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 @ 11:30 AM
Illini Country Club
$30 per person, includes lunch and tea or coffee
Menu: Parmesan Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta in Marinara Sauce served with Broccoli, Sticky Buns, Chocolate Mousse in a Shot Glass. Includes tea or coffee.
Schedule
- Social time @ 11:30 AM
- Lunch served @ 12:00 PM
- Program starts @ 12:45 PM
Reservations are due by Friday, April 26, 2024. Make your reservation today. Reservations may be made online or by mailing a check payable to the Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield to P.O. Box 9641, Springfield, IL 62791-9641.
Support Provided By:
Springfield Venue Illini Country Club
1601 Illini Rd, Springfield, IL 62704
Featured:
Alejandro Gómez Guillén Conductor
Conductor and violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén is passionate about sharing music in a way that is compelling, uplifting, and educational. Entering his second season as assistant conductor with the Omaha Symphony, he completed seven seasons as artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, with which he led the world premiere of Mickey Tucker’s Spiritual Collage and the Indiana premiere of Florence Price’s Fourth Symphony. He also completed a successful tenure as associate conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, leading multiple community classics, pops, outdoor, bilingual and educational concerts, including collaborations with artists such as Time for Three and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte. Additionally, he is also music director of Denver's Sphere Ensemble which explores the intersection of masterpieces of string ensemble music of the past and present with a multitude of genres and world music masters.. The group’s recordings are available through major music streaming platforms. Alejandro also served as acting concertmaster/principal second violin of West Texas Symphony and violinist of the Permian Basin and Chasqui Quartets, and he has also served as Freeman conducting fellow with Chicago Sinfonietta, associate conductor of Boulder Symphony and music director of Cantabile.
Recent activities include serving as cover conductor with the Orlando Philharmonic with Eric Jacobsen, for the symphonies of Indianapolis with Jun Märkl and Carlos Kalmar, Fort Worth with Robert Spano, Ruth Rheinhardt, and Andrew Grams, Dallas with Matthew Halls, planned performances with the Chicago Sinfonietta (cancelled due to the pandemic), and leading Tulsa’s Signature Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale, SingFest Hong Kong, Bogotá’s Javeriana University, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and Midland Festival Ballet. He appeared as part of the Oregon Bach Festival conducting masterclass with public performances of Bach’s B minor Mass, St. John Passion, and the Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Oratorios. Additional activities include the Bloomington Early Music Festival, Weimarer Bachkantaten Akademie, Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, ¡Canta, Bogotá Canta!, Santander Choral Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Tonos del Sur at Berkeley Festival, Permian Basin Opera, a fellowship with SphinxConnect, and a residency in his native Colombia with Batuta.
Committed to sharing music in an educational way, Alejandro’s activities with the Omaha Symphony include artistic leadership of the orchestra’s prestigious and multifaceted community and education programs. Alejandro has served as assistant professor of music at Colorado Mesa University where he taught violin, viola, courses in symphonic literature, string pedagogy and chamber music, as well as conducting the chamber and symphony orchestras. He served as music director of the Colorado Youth Philharmonia and has led performances with Off Broadway School of Fine Arts in Boulder, Javeriana University Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Youth Symphony, University of Colorado Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and Falcon Music Camps at the University of Texas Permian Basin.
An accomplished violinist, Alejandro enjoys leading Mozart and Haydn concertos from the violin in recent and upcoming seasons. He was concertmaster of Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, with which he toured Germany and Italy including performances at Rheingau Music Festival and Berlin Philharmonie. He also returned to Oregon Bach Festival as a member of the Berwick Academy for Historical Performance.
Alejandro had a rich musical upbringing as a chorister and violinist in his native Colombia. Following a move to the United States he pursued a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Texas Christian University and Master of Music degrees in conducting and violin performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from the same institution, and his doctoral research includes a critical edition of Colombian composer Jorge Pinzón’s violin concerto, and a guide using selected dances from Bach’s orchestral suites in their original form for developing orchestras through a historically-informed approach to playing on modern instruments. His mentors include Gary Lewis, Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, and Mei-Ann Chen.
When not playing, leading ensembles, or reveling in the music of Bach, Alejandro enjoys singing, trail running, and making music with his wife, violinist Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Cranor and their Duo Anthracite.
Conducting your Illinois Symphony Orchestra!
Opposites Attract
Friday, May 3, 2024 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, May 4, 2024 @ 7:30 PM |
Conducted your Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra!
Sizzling Strings
Friday, December 1, 2023 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, December 2, 2023 @ 7:30 PM |