Academic
Ultimate Career Goals
As I begin in earnest my research of Latin American orchestral repertoire, I feel it is important to keep in mind my larger professional goals. My experiences as a musician in New York have convinced me that my academic activities must be accompanied by an active professional life; in the past this has included playing, composing and teaching, among other things. Though I consider myself a knowledgeable and committed educator, it’s also important to me that any academic research to which I dedicate myself have a practical purpose behind it.
To this end, I am attempting to create a strong connection between my work with POA and my academic research. I have assisted the orchestra in an organizational and artistic planning capacity and found these tasks to be rewarding. Not only do I hope to continue to serve this role in the organization, but I also intend to seek out these opportunities in other musical organizations, preferably orchestras. This may include some kind of formal administrative training in the future, but I’m hoping that my academic knowledge paired with my practical experience will open doors for me in this area.
Having never served as a full-time administrator in an orchestra, I cannot claim to understand the many aspects of the job nor am I in a position to judge the professionalism of those who rise to the challenge. However, I feel strongly that American orchestras are all too irrelevant in the eyes of the general public. There are many reasons for this, but one of them must surely be the choice of repertoire and how that repertoire is marketed to possible audiences and presented to ticket buyers and financial supporters. Working with POA Conductor Alondra de la Parra has demonstrated to me another model that is both viable and energizing, the net result being the establishment of a core POA audience and group of supporters that is young, open-minded, and committed. This orchestra has succeeded in simultaneously being entertaining and expanding musical horizons with performances of both artistic integrity and popular appeal, all of which center around music of the Americas.
Already in the course of my research, I have had the opportunity to make contacts within and explore the contents of the national musical archive in Mexico (CENIDIM). My two trips to Mexico to accomplish this contributed to my ability to fulfill the role of assistant producer for the aforementioned recording. Getting to know the contents of other archives and the experts that curate them is instrumental to the continuation of this work. Doing this in Latin America may initially prove difficult and costly, however, hence I will begin this process in the United States.
First, I intend to approach some major American orchestras (most likely in Boston) in order to search their archives for works by Latin American composers. My purpose here is not to find new works or the scores that accompany them, but instead to understand the logic behind past choices in orchestral programming. I hope to find a pattern of instances in which works from the Americas are presented side-by-side with European works with demonstrable success.
Perhaps even more important would be several short-term residencies in the major cities of Latin America. In these places, I could explore the archives of the major academic and performing institutions and meet conductors, musicologists and composers. Such residencies could provide material not only for future programming of existing works but also newly commissioned ones.
Ultimately I seek to understand why Euro-centric programming is so common in American orchestras and propose alternatives that might influence future programming. Works from the Americas are rarely programmed outside of the their country of origin unless part of a culturally-themed concert; I aim to advocate against this practice and in favor of integration of this repertoire into the standard Euro-centric model.