Artists Corner: Q & A with Giancarlo Guerrero

Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency, leads the Colburn Orchestra in its second concert of the season later this month. Maestro Guerreros 2012-2013 season includes debuts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He returns to the Boston, Indianapolis and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Philadelphia Orchestra for both its subscription season and at Vail, Brussels Philharmonic, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, and to Australia for performances with the Adelaide Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia. An advocate for young musicians and music education, Maestro Guerrero now returns annually to Caracas, Venezuela to conduct the Orquesta Sinfnica Simn Bolvar and to work with young musicians in the countrys lauded El Sistema music program. As his debut with the Colburn Orchestra approaches on October 27th, we asked the four-time Grammywinning conductor a few questions: Can you speak a little about the wonderful program youll be conducting particularly Wagners Prelude from Loengrin and why they are great pieces for an orchestra of young musicians to perform? All three pieces in my program combine story lines with music. Lohengrin and Don Quixote come from German and Spanish literature and La Mer is a clear image of the ocean through the eyes of a master of orchestration. They tell stories through musical notes and the audience is challenged to create their own images in their minds. This program is tailor made for a virtuoso orchestra and it will showcase the Colburn Orchestra as a unit, while giving individual players shining moments in the spotlight; and I'm especially delighted to be collaborating with the soloists Yi Zhou and Allan Steele who will be representing the characters of Don Quixote and his trusted side kick, Sancho Panza. As a sought-after conductor of many professional orchestras, why does conducting a school orchestra interest you? I am always eager to work with young musicians; it is a refreshing way to explore standard repertoire through the eyes of musicians who haven't had too many opportunities to perform it extensively. This allows the music to be explored as if the piece was being played for the first time; I personally make time in my schedule to work with young musicians in conservatories and youth orchestras; plus, this gives me an opportunity to spend time with the next generation of great artists and be inspired for the future of our art form. Out of all of your upcoming concerts in the 2012-13 season, which engagement and/or collaboration excites you the most? This has been an immensely rewarding season so far; I opened my concert season in Nashville with performances of Mahler's monumental 8th Symphony, appropriately called the "Symphony of a Thousand"; and since then, I've recorded 3 CDs with music by Roberto Sierra, Richard Danielpour and Stephen Paulus; I get a lot of joy from my relationships with different orchestras around the world: I'm returning to the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the Boston Symphony; plus performances in London, Brussels, Oslo, Australia and New Zealand; I'm very fortunate and honored to make music with some of the top orchestras in the world; and I'm especially happy about my new relationship with the Colburn School. Join us for a Colburn Orchestra concert on October 27, 2012, at 7:30 pm at Pasadenas Ambassador Auditorium. Visit www.colburnschool.edu/performances for further details on the season.