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ANGEL GIL-ORDÓÑEZ, conductor
Biography
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A frequent guest conductor across Europe, the United States and Latin America,
Maestro Gil-Ordóñez holds the positions of Music Director/Conductor of PostClassical
Ensemble in Washington DC, Principal Guest Conductor of New York’s Perspectives Ensemble,
and Music Director of the Georgetown University Orchestra in DC. He also serves as advisor
for education and programming for Trinitate Philharmonia, a program in León, Mexico,
modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema.
As the co-founder, along with music historian Joseph Horowitz, of PostClassical
Ensemble in Washington DC, Gil-Ordóñez's music directorship and conducting have helped
propel PostClassical Ensemble to recognition as “one of the most innovative” and “the most
thought-provoking” music groups in the country. Of PCE’s recent two sold-out performances,
conducted by Maestro Gil-Ordóñez as part of the Kennedy Center’s “Iberian Suite” festival,
Anne Midgette, The Washington Post (3/11/15) commented, “It was an impressive array, and, as
far as presenting a wide cross-section of work in meaningful short excerpts, it pretty much blew
the festival’s opening-night presentation last week out of the water. …the PostClassical
Ensemble itself…sounded in fine form under its engaging music director, Angel Gil-Ordóñez,
and offered satisfying chunks of straight-up classical music…. If you wanted one evening that
summed up some of the scope and ambition of this festival, this was probably it.” No wonder
that Phillip Kennicott, The Washington Post (2/16/15) calls PCE “…one of the country’s most
innovative music groups.”
New York’s Perspectives Ensemble, resident ensemble for the series Perspectives in
Music and Art at Columbia University, consistently receives the highest critical accolades. Its
musicians are among those most in demand for New York’s premier musical organizations.
Perspectives Ensemble collaborates with some of the most dynamic and visionary conductors
today, primarily its Principal Guest Conductor, Angel Gil-Ordoñez.
His beginning as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony in Spain, propelled his
conducting career, and led him to guest conduct prominent orchestras such as the American
Composers Orchestra, Opera Colorado, the Pacific Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the
Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Abroad, he has been heard with the
Munich Philharmonic, and at the Bellas Artes National Theatre in Mexico City. In the summer
of 2000, he toured the major music festivals of Spain with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra in
the Spanish premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
An American citizen, Mr. Gil-Ordóñez was born and raised in Spain; his musical
education and early conducting career were in Europe. He worked closely with legendary
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conductor Sergiu Celibidache in Germany for more than six years. He also studied with Pierre
Boulez and Iannis Xenakis in France. His work emphasizes the uniqueness of the concert
experience and a sense of discovery, and his energy, plus a masterful clarity and expressive
depth of feeling, distinguish his performances. Best known for his brilliant interpretations of
Spain’s repertoire, Gil-Ordóñez is equally accomplished in the French, German and 20th
century repertoire.
In addition to PostClassical Ensemble’s Virgil Thomson and Copland CD/DVDs on
Naxos, Mr. Gil-Ordóñez has recorded five CDs devoted to Spanish composers. He has been
thrice recognized as Naxos Artist of the week. His most recent CDs for Naxos are Montsalvatge,
X., (“This disk won me over in its first twenty seconds . . . .” and, “. . . the shimmering string
accompaniment of the Perspectives Ensemble, conducted with sensitivity by Angel GilOrdóñez.” Joshua Rosenblum, Opera News, 2014) — and Dvorak and America, chosen for the Top
10 Most-Coveted New Classical Tracks Albums of 2014 Minnesota Public Radio, December 2014
and the live concert performance was called “Exuberant, unfettered, almost cinematic in its rich
colors and heady sweep of ideas, the work seemed to explode with vitality and a sense of
freedom and infinite possibility. Much of that was due to superb playing by the ensemble itself
— led with fluidity and precision by music director Angel Gil-Ordonez.” Stephen Brookes, The
Washington Post, 3/3/13
His press accolades are many, including these recent comments: from Solomon Volkov,
author of Testimony, “Angel Gil-Ordóñez' insight into Shostakovich's music is astounding”; and
“Charismatic PCE Music Director Angel Gil-Ordóñez led a taut, unforgettable reading.” Brett
Campbell, MusicalAmerica. [Lou Harrison Feted in D.C.] 3/14/11
In 2006, the King of Spain awarded Mr. Gil-Ordóñez the country’s highest civilian decoration,
the Royal Order of Queen Isabella, which is equivalent to a knighthood, for his work in
advancing Spanish culture in the world and, in particular, for performing and teaching Spanish
music in its cultural context. Maestro Gil-Ordóñez additionally received a WAMMIE award in
the category of “Best Conductor“ in 2011 from the Washington DC Association of Professional
Musicians. Angel Gil-Ordóñez grew up in a family that encouraged broad intellectual curiosity
and that valued Spanish culture. At an early age he started music lessons, and in his teens he
focused on mastering the violin.
Before entering university he told his parents of his desire to become a professional
musician but they denied his request to attend the conservatory. Angel insisted, so they came
to an agreement: Angel would pursue Engineering studies at the Universidad Politecnica de
Madrid, with the condition that he could simultaneously continue his music studies at the
Madrid Conservatory of Music. Once he completed his Engineering studies, he symbolically
gave his degree to his parents as proof of his commitment to his word. At this time he firmly
declared his ambition to become a professional musician. In 1974 Gil-Ordóñez began his music
studies at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid focusing on violin, polyphony and
choir conducting, harmony, counterpoint, and music history with some of the most outstanding
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musicians in Spain. At the Conservatory, he also studied in the Musical Analysis Master Classes
with Jacques Chailley.
All through the late 1970s, Angel never missed a major concert or opera performance in
Madrid, which at that time attracted some of the finest national and international performers
and orchestras. A turning point in his musical career was April 1978 when he attended a concert
with Sergiu Celibidache conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. It was at that moment,
seeing one of the legendary conductors of the 20th century, that Angel decided to become a
conductor, and that when he was ready, he would seek out the opportunity to study with
Celibidache. In 1983, Gil-Ordóñez moved his training from Spain to France. He engaged in
studies of Contemporary Music sponsored by the Paris’s Centre Acanthes with Iannis Xenakis
(composition), Irvin Arditti (violin), James Wood (choral conducting), and Claude Helffer and
Rudolph Frisius (musical analysis). He also studied with Pierre Boulez (Conducting Master
Classes) in Avignon.
In 1985 Gil-Ordóñez achieved the promise he had made to himself and began the most
significant and important training of his career, moving to Munich to pursue studies with the
Munich Philarmonic conductor Sergiu Celibidache. These studies included those at the
Münchner Philharmoniker; seven semesters at the Mainzer Universität-Musikhochschule in Main;
five Master Classes in Cluny and Paris; three Conducting Courses at the Scuola di Alto
Perfezionamiento Musicale in Saluzzo, Italy; and two assistantships at the Orchesterakademie des
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. While in Germany from 1985 to 1991 he
broadened his studies in the European repertoire. In Munich, he was also in composition
studies with Günter Bialas, Paul Engel and Friedrich Schwenk, and in Oberuff in Violin Master
Classes with Rony Rogoff.
He has received a number of grants from eminent organizations that include the Centre
Acanthes in Paris, the Banco de España, the Ministerio Español de Cultura, the Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, all which
allowed him to continue his music studies and career. Gil-Ordóñez served as the Music
Director and Conductor from 1986 to 1991 for the Orchestra and Choir of the Spanish Cultural
Institute in Munich, Germany. In 1991, he moved back to Spain when he was appointed to the
National Symphony Orchestra of Spain as Associate Conductor. He also founded the chamber
orchestra Academia de Madrid of which he became Music Director. In addition he was the
Principal Guest Conductor of the Classical Orchestra of Madrid.
In 1997, Gil-Ordóñez came to Washington, DC where he founded musica aperta
Washington, and for which he served as Music Director until 2001. Since 1997 he has been the
Music Director and co-founder and of IberArtists New York, Inc., an initiative to promote
Spanish repertoire in the United States.
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