Georgetown University Music Program Announces Hire of Renowned Conductor Angel Gil-Ordóñez to Faculty
August 8, 2012 – Washington, D.C. – The Georgetown University Music Program is pleased to welcome Angel Gil-Ordóñez to its faculty as Music Director of the GU Orchestra. Co-founder and music director of the PostClassical Ensemble in Washington, D.C., praised for its “original and thought-provoking” (Baltimore Sun) programming and for adding “a new and engaging dimension to our musical life” (Washington Post), Gil-Ordóñez also serves as advisor for education and programming for Trinitate Philarmonia, a program in Leon, Mexico modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema. The former Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Spain, Gil-Ordóñez has conducted symphonic music, opera, and ballet throughout Europe, the United States and Latin America. He currently also serves as the Principal Guest Conductor of New York’s Perspectives Ensemble.
Georgetown University Music Program Director Anthony R. DelDonna says, “We’re delighted to welcome Maestro Gil-Ordóñez to our faculty. He brings a wealth of international experience and professional expertise that will greatly enhance our academic program. The fact that he is an acclaimed interpreter of contemporary music, especially symphonic music, opera, and ballet, will be a significant asset to our music major with its emphasis on American Musical Culture.”
Coming to Georgetown from Wesleyan University, where he served as Director of Orchestra Studies, Gil-Ordóñez will conduct the Georgetown University Orchestra and teach a seminar in conducting. He will also work to expand private lesson opportunities for students.
Gil-Ordóñez says, “One of the most exciting things about Georgetown University’s Department of Performing Arts is the way that the programs in music, theatre, and dance work so closely together. I really look forward to many interdisciplinary projects.”
The addition of Gil-Ordóñez to the faculty also builds on the strong relationship between Georgetown University and the PostClassical Ensemble, now in the fifth year of their educational partnership. Working closely to bring students, scholars, performers, and audiences together in new and exciting ways, the two organizations have offered collaborative concerts and interdisciplinary conferences, such as Defining Mexico, Copland and the Cold War, Interpreting Liszt, The Stravinsky Project, and Schubert Uncorked. Student actors and singers have performed with the professional PostClassical Ensemble, and faculty from various Georgetown University departments have also put repertoire into a historical/cultural context via public talks and classroom discussions.
Born in Madrid and an American citizen since 2009, Gil-Ordóñez worked closely with Sergiu Celibidache in Germany for more than six years. He also studied with Pierre Boulez and Iannis Xenakis in France. A specialist in the Spanish repertoire, Gil-Ordóñez has recorded four CDs devoted to Spanish composers, in addition to PostClassical Ensemble’s Virgil Thomson and Copland CD/DVDs on Naxos (Artist of the Week for both releases).
In the United States, Gil-Ordóñez has appeared with the American Composers Orchestra, Opera Colorado, the Pacific Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the National Gallery Orchestra in Washington. He received a WAMMIE award from the Washington DC association of professional musicians in the category of best conductor in 2011. Abroad, he has been heard with the Munich Philharmonic, the Solistes de Berne, at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and at the Bellas Artes National Theatre in Mexico City. In the summer of 2000, he toured the major music festivals of Spain with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra in the Spanish premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
In 2006, the king of Spain awarded Gil-Ordóñez the country’s highest civilian decoration, the Royal Order of Queen Isabella, for his work in advancing Spanish culture around the world, in particular for performing and teaching Spanish music in its cultural context.
Events that Gil-Ordóñez will be leading in the Georgetown University Department of Performing Arts 2012-13 season include the following:
Georgetown University Orchestra
Prof. Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Music Director
Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 2-3:30 p.m.
Open Rehearsal: Join the Orchestra and Play Along
In this special Georgetown Parents Weekend event, the Georgetown University Orchestra, under the direction of Prof. Angel Gil-Ordóñez, invites all members of the University Community and visiting parents alike to join in the music making of an open rehearsal. Orchestral instruments are preferred and we welcome all visitors to attend and engage with the ensemble and our music program.
DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GONDA THEATRE
FREE
Sunday, December 2 at 8 p.m.
Fall Concert
The Georgetown University Orchestra performs symphonic repertory of the 19th and 20th centuries.
DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GONDA THEATRE
FREE
Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Spring Concert
As part of the Georgetown-PostClassical Ensemble (PCE) partnership, and in conjunction with PCE’s “Dvořák and America” festival, The Georgetown University Orchestra will present a program featuring works by the Czech composer.
DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GONDA THEATRE
FREE
About the Georgetown University Music Program
Georgetown University’s Music Program is distinctive for its emphasis on the study of music as both a reflection of multiculturalism in the Americas and a creative activity within contemporary society. The program specializes in all forms of music associated with American Culture, including jazz, rock, film, popular music from around the world, and music of the Western European Tradition (i.e. classical music). The liberal arts degree in American Musical Culture integrates the University’s strengths in politics and American Studies and is designed for students interested in pursuing careers and/or graduate study in arts management, composition, cultural criticism, entertainment law, media studies, music business, music journalism or musicology.
Media contact:
Laura Mertens
lmm236@georgetown.edu
202-687-6933