Boulder Concert Band Selects Rafael Antonio Rodriguez as Music Director and Conductor

BOULDER, Colo. - Aug. 12, 2016 - PRLog -- The Boulder Concert Band, a nonprofit, premier adult community band, today announced that Rafael Antonio Rodriguez has been selected as its conductor and musical director.

"I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to make music with the wonderful musicians of the Boulder Concert Band as their new conductor," commented Rodriguez. "I look forward to many joyous musical experiences as we celebrate the band's 40th birthday and work to proudly represent our hometown of Boulder."

Rodriguez is currently attending the University of Colorado in Boulder as a teaching assistant in pursuit of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting. Mr. Rodriguez received graduate degrees in both Instrumental Conducting (M.M.) and in Education (M.Ed.) from universities in southern California in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and is a 1994 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He currently serves as Assistant Conductor with the Boulder Philharmonic.

Born in Mexico, citizen of the USA, and resident of Costa Rica, Rodriguez has conducted professional bands and orchestras internationally. He is the second prize winner at the Black Sea Conducting Competition in 2012, and debuted in Europe with the Romanian National Opera Orchestra in Constanţa in September 2013, returning to conduct in 2014. Rodriguez was selected as a 2015 Conducting Fellow with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and collaborates as a guest conductor with the National Bands of Costa Rica on a regular basis. He debuted as a professional band conductor with the premiere Banda Nacional de San José in 2007.

Rodriguez recently returned from Lima as guest conductor and clinician for "FestiBandas," hosted by the Peruvian Association of Symphonic Band and Ensemble Directors (ASPEB) where he led the Air Force Band of Peru in concert along with the British-Peruvian Cultural Center Youth Orchestra. His work as a conductor and master teacher has taken him to Romania, Bulgaria, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, and the USA. Notable performances have included sold-out shows at the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, in the Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, and at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Lima.

After attending "The Conductors Lab" in Aix-en-Provence, France, featuring an ensemble of ten musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic in 2012, Rodriguez hosted Fergus McWilliam, Horn player with the Berlin Philharmonic, for a week of master classes and concerts with the National Bands of Costa Rica, along with Dr. Thomas Verrier from Vanderbilt University.

Rafael's conducting studies include an ongoing collaboration with Italian maestro Alfredo Bonavera, 1969 winner of the prestigious Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition and assistant conductor with the New York Philharmonic (1969 – 1970), as well as sessions with American maestro Carl St. Clair.

About the Boulder Concert Band

The first records of a performing band in the city of Boulder date back to 1870. The Boulder Concert Band as we know it today was reorganized in 1976 by the late Hugh McMillen, former Director of Bands at the University of Colorado. The current organization has over 70 volunteer musicians from the business, professional, and educational communities in Boulder County and the Denver metro area.

The Boulder Concert Band provides the community with outstanding performances of traditional and modern concert literature and enriches the cultural experience of the audience and the musicians. Follow the Boulder Concert Band on Facebook or visit the web site at www.boulderband.org.