The University of Arizona Philharmonic Orchestra will present a concert on Friday, February 23, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. in Crowder Hall. Conducted by doctoral student Juan Montoya, the orchestra will perform Engelbert Humperdinck’s Prelude to “Hansel and Gretel” and Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The University of Arizona Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the large ensembles vital to the educational and artistic mission of the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music. In its ranks are music majors and minors, as well as many students and other members of the UA community. The Philharmonic performs a cross-section of the orchestral repertoire in a number of concerts each year. The ensemble performs under the baton of doctoral students András Derecskei and Juan Montoya, under the direction of Director of Orchestral Activities, Dr. Thomas Cockrell. This program will be conducted by Juan Montoya.
About the Conductor
Colombian conductor Juan Montoya is the 2018 recipient of the Music Advisory Board Distinguished Graduate Student Award. He has won several international prizes and guest conducts around the world. His symphonic engagements have included performances with the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Bentley Repertoire Orchestra, UiTM Symphony Orchestra (Malaysia), EAFIT Symphony Orchestra (Colombia), Surabaya Symphony Orchestra (Indonesia), the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
Montoya earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the EAFIT University, in Medellín, Colombia and a double master’s degree in piano performance and orchestral conducting from the University of Toledo, Ohio. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral and opera conducting at the University of Arizona as a student of Dr. Thomas Cockrell. He also works under the tutelage of Vance George of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
Montoya’s awards include a first prize (Golden Baton) at the International Orchestral Conducting Competition with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay in 2016, a special mention from the jury at the Second Black Sea Opera Conducting Competition in Constanța, Romania in 2016, and third place at the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition in Rousse, Bulgaria in 2017.
Montoya’s most recent opera engagements have included productions of La bohème (2016), La Fille du régiment (2017), and The Marriage of Figaro (2017) with the Kuala Lumpur City Opera (Malaysia), which he has served as resident conductor since 2014. Future engagements include Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel in Malaysia and guest conducting concerts and operas in Cairo, Paraguay, Hungary, Romania, Colombia and the United States.
CONTACT: Fine Arts Box Office, (520) 621-1162 or tickets.arizona.edu
TICKETS: $5
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