“I interviewed Alejandro via email. He is an inspirational figure in the teen starter and educational community.  I wish him much success in his future endeavors and career.”–Jasmine

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My name is Alejandro Pinzón. I am a Mexican conductor and violinist born in the tropical land of Yucatán, México. I now live in Morgantown, West Virginia where I am working on my DMA in orchestra conducting. I study with Dr. Mitchell Arnold at West Virginia University. I am also the new string instructor and conductor of the string ensemble at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, PA.

According to professional “standards,” I found Classical Music rather late in life. I was twelve when I went to my first classical concert. The guest violinist performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and I only remember that after hearing those wonderful sounds I wanted to do it myself and for my whole life. I started violin lessons about a year later. Just a few more years after that, I had become the principal second violin of the orchestra I went to listen to, and I was playing Vivaldi “Le Quattro Stagioni”.

From the very first moment I played in an ensemble, conducting became a great interest to me. But in those days, there was nobody to teach me. So, the idea went to sleep but not the desire.

In 2004, I put together a concert–Homage to The Beatles–for string quartet and rock band. My friends from the band (without any serious musical training) had learned the music from recordings, and I had recently bought arrangements for string quartet on a trip to London. To our surprise, the arrangements fit almost perfectly. Rehearsals started with enthusiasm but things got a little bit chaotic fast. The string quartet, consisting of trained musicians, and the amateur rock band could not play together. I was the first violin. I tried to use my bow and cued with my head but nothing worked. At some point, one of my friends said it was impossible to do it without a conductor. They asked me to stand up and beat the time for them. That is how I got my start in conducting!

Knowing that I was going to be the conductor, I wanted to look cool on stage but did not have a baton for the show (back then I did not know that conducting comes from your head, not from a wood stick). Happily, I had an unexpected meeting with Dr. Leroy Osmon, a composer and teacher from Texas who had moved to Mérida my hometown.

He invited me to his house and asked me a question I will never forget. He said, “Alejandro, do you want to conduct? Or do you want to become a conductor? Those are different things!” I told him about the upcoming performance and explained the situation of not having a conducting teacher. He then grabbed a can from his desk. It was packed with pencils and two or three old batons. He gave me one of his batons, and he invited me to visit him every Saturday for free conducting lessons.

The concert was a great success, and I went to study with Dr. Osmon every Saturday for over a year. In 2005, I traveled to Germany and studied conducting over the summer with Christoph Hagel (student of Sergiu Celibidache and Leonard Bernstein), and organized my official conducting premiere. Shortly after it, I learned from Leroy (now my mentor) that I had the opportunity to audition for graduate school in the US. In 2006, I moved to T.X. and studied for two years with Col. Lowell Graham at the University of Texas at El Paso. I got my Masters in Conducting in 2008.

Presently, I am organizing and conducting my own ensembles such the American Women’s Ensemble (AWE). I want to celebrate women through music. Women have always been the best guidance in my life. Women taught me the discipline of work, the importance of education, the values of love, respect, and compassion; women shaped the man I am. I was always amazed to see my mother playing the role of “mom and dad” at home. I started learning English at an early age because she thought it was important. How would I know that years later that knowledge was going to open the doors for me to start a career and a new life in an English speaking country?

There are many challenges involved in starting a group in the classical field. a Classical music has always been part of a closed environment, reserved for a certain kind of people. For a long time, orchestras have been maintained like museums but the non-interactive kind. All of us who love classical music, we, the new generation of musicians, have to make an effort to keep our musical passion alive. I hope AWE can do its part in that effort and become an asset in the state of West Virginia.

Thank you all for reading and please feel free to comment. You can also e-mail me at apinzas@yahoo.com.

March 1, 2010in Interviews by jasmine-reese 1 Comment »