MSOA Announces additions to conducting staff
The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra Association and Music & Artistic Director Felix Torres announce additions to conducting staff.
Stephan Gomez will join the ensemble as Assistant Conductor, and Francisco Maia will step into the role as Conducting Fellow.
About the additions, Torres said, “Conducting is one of the professions which we cannot do alone. We depend on others to make music as well as to learn how the musicians react to our gestures and communication with them.” He continues, “Without the opportunities I was afforded as a young conductor, I would not have had the chance to grow and learn. I feel a responsibility to pay that forward to the next generation of conductors.”
Gomez and Maia will conduct both in rehearsal and select performances throughout the season.
Stephan Gomez is currently a graduate student at Baylor University under the tutelage of Miguel Harth-Bedoya. At Baylor, Gomez is actively involved in conducting the Baylor Symphony Orchestra, Baylor Campus Orchestra, and self-organized chamber ensembles. Additionally, Gomez serves as the Teaching Assistant for Miguel Harth-Bedoya's The Conducting Institute in Fort Worth, TX.
Read more about Stephan here.
Francisco Maia holds a Licenciatura degree in Musicology (2016) from FCSH-Nova, in Portugal, as well as a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting (2021) from West Texas A&M University, where he studied conducting under Mark Bartley and music theory from BJ Brooks. Maia is the Director of Orchestras at Boulter Middle School and Tyler High School, in Tyler, TX. Additionally, Maia works with Maestro Torres at the East Texas Youth Orchestra as a cover conductor.
Read more about Francisco here.
###
The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra is a primarily volunteer-driven ensemble consisting of players from across the North and East Texas area.
Started in 1986 by community members, the orchestra has experienced tremendous growth in the past several seasons. Its mission is to bring compelling, live performances to the Mesquite area and beyond. The MSO accomplishes this through its in-person and live-streamed performances of music from the core repertory as well as an intentional selection of repertoire by living and diverse composers.
The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra will perform nine concerts in the 24/25 season and recently announced the formation of MSO Winds – a performing ensemble of the wind and percussion sections from the orchestra to perform repertoire from the wind band repertory.
