New Conductor Brings a Foreign Sensibility By Heather Cohen Contributing Writer Angel Gil Ordóñez, a native of Madrid, Spain, is the conductor of the Wesleyan Orchestra. This is his first year with the orchestra. The following is an interview conducted with Ordóñez before the Orchestra’s Tuesday night rehearsal.

LAURA SCHAFFER New conductor of the Wesleyan Orchestra Angel Gil Ordóñez leads a rehearsal in Crowell Concert Hall Tuesday night.

Cohen: Why are you a musician? What draws you to music?

Gil Ordóñez: A hard question definitely — why a musician and not a doctor? In Spain, music is an important element present in [everything from] folklore to everyday life. Originally in Spain I would talk with people and I would tell them I was a musician and they would ask me, "and what else are you?" I decided to study violin at the university, but because of the attitude in Spain I also studied engineering, although quickly I left this to study music solely. Here in America, though, there is a much greater appreciation for musicians. And to be able to share music with people who are accepting and interested in the subject is a great thing.

Cohen: Do you have any unique conducting stories?

Gil Ordóñez: Conducting is a crazy world! Each orchestra creates its own world filled with countless anecdotes. The wonderful thing about conducting is that although you play the same work with different orchestras, within each ensemble it becomes a different piece. For example working with orchestras, ranging from France to Italy to Spain, will each produce a unique and individual world for one particular piece.

Cohen: That is interesting because you would think that music is a universal constant and would not vary so much from country to country. Do you think music can have one overall effect though it is often quite varied in sound?

Gil Ordóñez: Playing Beethoven’s symphony in the Italian orchestra, for example, will have its own uniqueness, but in the end the audience will understand the same message. I don’t necessarily think that music is a language. Music is something true to every human and profound in each of our own beings. Perhaps that is why we can all make music together.

Cohen: How do you like being at Wesleyan University? Is it different from other places you have conducted?

Gil Ordóñez: When I first found out the position was open at Wesleyan, I searched the Internet to find out more about this institution. The thing that really attracted me towards Wesleyan University was the interdisciplinary element that is here through the Center For the Arts. It is unique for myself that the art and dance departments can work so closely with the music department. For the year 2000 I would like to arrange an Italian opera so we can incorporate every department to work together. I feel that Wesleyan and the Middletown areas are great places to be located: I am close to Washington, DC, where my chamber orchestra is and also not far from New York City. I feel like many new things are coming together in my life including my position here and my wife having our first baby in October. It is also great to be able to ride my bike from my home to my office in five minutes.

Cohen: Where are you originally from?

Gil Ordóñez: Originally I am from Madrid. I attended high school there and then decided to study with the conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra Maestro Sergiu Celibidache. Afterwards I was named the Associate Conductor for the National Orchestra of Spain. In Spain I received a contract to make recordings for Spanish music in New York. Four years ago I came to America, specifically to New York City. Later, I decided to move to Washington, DC and founded a chamber orchestra, Musical Aperta Washington, for musicians of the Kennedy Center Opera house.

Cohen: What was the first instrument that you played?

Gil Ordóñez: I first studied the violin, learning both harmony and theory through the practice of this instrument. From the start of my musical career, though, I knew I wanted to be a conductor. As a child, I attended many concerts in Madrid and I was always attracted to the figure of the conductor. Another important thing is that I love working with people. Sometimes when you play an instrument there is that danger of becoming isolated as a soloist. I knew that by becoming a conductor, there would always be an opportunity to work among and with people.

Cohen: What specific influences did you have the made you enter the field of music or become a conductor?

Gil Ordóñez: The most important influence that I have had as a conductor was from my mentor and teacher Sergiu Celibidache. Throughout the musical world in Madrid, Celibidache was admired and greatly respected as a conductor. I learned that he was going to perform two concerts in Madrid and even without any notion of how he made music, immediately I thought that I must to work for this individual. For the first time in my life I realized the potential of conducting. I traveled all over the world with him, conducting many orchestras, especially with a focus upon conducting young people. This was a specialty of Celibidache and helped to bring me to the university to conduct students.

Cohen: Is there any message you want to send to the students of Wesleyan University?

Gil Ordóñez: All the programs here are open to everyone. I love when people drop by my rehearsals to see the "laboratory work" of the orchestra and understand how the final product is achieved. I am trying to elevate the level of the orchestra. My idea is that the Wesleyan University orchestra should be a great orchestra, but I would like to create other groups for all levels of musicians. I believe everyone should have their place in the music program and I will find a place for all musicians interested.

Cohen: Based on your own personality, which instrument do you most identify with?

Gil Ordóñez: I would have to say the best instrument, by far, is the orchestra. For a conductor, it is my goal to push my orchestras to allow 120-member ensembles to play in unison as one voice. The orchestra is the most beautiful of instruments because it is able to let each of its members’ personalities to be part of and influence other personalities. It then takes all that individuality and achieves a united sound.