Jose-Luis is a dynamic twentysomething musician who can move effortlessly from the conductor’s podium to the lecture hall and into the non-profit boardroom. The New England Conservatory’s president calls him “an eloquent advocate for classical music.” The League of American Orchestras recently invited him to invent the future. He’s collaborated in education projects with Sir Simon Rattle (the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic), the Van Cliburn Foundation; and published his first book on the revolutionary El Sistema. He votes for the annual classical Grammy Awards and has performed live on Chicago’s classical radio powerhouse WFMT. Sometimes is hard to define his work but easy to discern that he is intensely passionate about sharing the joy of music. “I remember, vividly, the day I chose to study music…I wanted to be an artist,” he says. And it has been an exciting journey. Jose-Luis studied music and the humanities at Texas Christian University (Lili Kraus Scholar) and the University of Texas Pan-American. He was a conducting fellow at Bard College Conservatory of Music and received post-graduate training at the Conservatori del Liceu in Barcelona. He took part in the New York Philharmonic’s Conservatory Collaborations, an opportunity that allowed him to observe some of the world’s greatest conductors at work. In 2012, he was admitted into the prestigious Sistema Fellows program at NEC—Jose Antonio Abreu’s TED Prize wish to change the world. He currently leads El Sistema Oklahoma and serves on the Faculty at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music of Oklahoma City University where he teaches social action through music. He also keeps a busy guest conducting schedule that includes residencies with both professional and youth orchestras in Mexico City (OFUNAM, Carlos Chávez), Caracas, Hartford, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. In early 2013, he joined Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela for their Latin American tour. Photos © 2013 Wendy Mutz, Download High-Res 1 - 2- 3