US music director steps down after 40 years
NewsMessage from the Plano Symphony Orchestra in Texas:
Brenda Mills, President of the Plano Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, announced today that at a recent Board of Directors’ retreat, Maestro Héctor Guzmán, the PSO’s longstanding music director and conductor, presented a five-year strategic artistic plan for the orchestra. Incorporated into the plan is his move from Music Director to Music Director Emeritus and the naming of a new music director during the PSO’s 2027/2028 season. In his role as Music Director Emeritus, Maestro Guzmán will continue to be associated with the PSO as a guest conductor. Plans for the Board-led search will be announced at a later date.
“Music making has been the greatest joy of my life,” commented Maestro Héctor Guzmán. “My decision comes at a time in my life when I feel emotionally, physically, and musically at the highest point in my career and therefore, the perfect time to let someone else continue this wonderful legacy.”
“We are indebted to Héctor for his 40 years as our beloved Music Director,” said Brenda Mills, PSO Board President. “In many ways, the PSO is Héctor Guzmán, and we are so much richer and better because of him and his extraordinary talent. We are indebted to Héctor for laying out a five-year transition plan that will allow us the necessary time to carefully execute the search process on behalf of the PSO, our musicians, and our community.”
US MUSIC DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN AFTER 40 YEARS? US music director changes title and stays with the orchestra 5 years from now… A 5 years transition plan… decisive
He is also currently MD of the Corpus Christi Symphony.
Plano is in the so-called Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. There are many orchestras there, almost as if every single city has its own.
The weirdest situation there is the Garland Symphony and Las Colinas Symphony, which is the same group. The same conductor and same musicians play the same programs two nights in a row under two different names in two cities. To make things even weirder, the Las Colinas Symphony does not even perform in Las Colinas. They perform in the city of Irving, Texas which already has its own Irving Symphony.
Yet another example of how artistically and intellectually lazy an organization can become. 40 years, plus another 5? Seriously? I can imagine that the revolving door for musicians and staff must be moving at lightning speed because who, with any shred of integrity, would tolerate such a stale approach to art? “I know, let’s do the same thing, only this time, we’ll give it a new title!” I can think of many US music directors that are far beyond their shelf life. One example, another Texas orchestra comes to mind…Abilene.
He’s “only” been in Abilene 19 years.
Banning Russian music when Russia is mounting an aggressive and unprovoked war against Poland’s neighbor is a absolutely the correct thing to do!
MD of two orchestras of no real importance, big deal. Some career that was. What happens in Texas should stay in Texas.