Artist description Composer, conductor and pianist. Arturo Rodriguez is originally from Monterrey, Mexico, where he started his musical studies. Rodriguez has also studied at TCU and at Butler University. His symphonic music could be described as "Film Music without a Film"

Music Style Symphonic

Musical Influences John Williams, Gustav Mahler

Similar Artists John Williams

Artist History Pianist, composer and conductor. Arturo Rodríguez is a native of Monterrey, México, and the youngest recipient of México’s Mozart Medal, he is regarded as one of that country’s most promising young musicians. His compositions have been performed in México, and his debut as a composer in the United States took place at Fort Worth’s Museum of Modern Art. Also a flutist, Rodríguez was first flute of TCU Symphony for two years. While a student at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León 1990-1992, he was recognized as the most outstanding student by the Diario de México’s Los Mejores Estudiantes de México. Arturo Rodríguez has appeared several times as a guest conductor with TCU Symphony since his conducting debut with the orchestra’s first México tour in 1997, and in 1998 he made his Dallas Symphony debut as a piano soloist. Also interested in reaching younger audiences and promoting Latin-American classical music, Arturo Rodríguez has performed and lectured at elementary schools of the Dallas/Fort Worth area working in conjunction with the Education Department of the Dallas Symphony. Rodríguez was assistant conductor with the TCU Symphony from 1998 to 2000 and served as substitute conductor and sectionals coach for the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras’ Philharmonic during that same period. Rodríguez conducted the TCU Symphony for the premier of his first orchestral piece, Mosaico Mexicano, in March 2000. The piece was also performed in México by the same orchestra at the end of that month and later in April at TCU’s Second Latin-American Music Festival. Germán Gutiérrez conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra premiere of Mosaico on May 5th and Rodríguez conducted it again in Indianapolis Indiana on three performances with the Butler Symphony Orchestra. On May 12th Rodríguez received the “Light of the Futureâ€� award, presented by the Kennedy Center/Imagination Celebration of Fort Worth, which commissioned him to write a work for the White House based Mars Millennium Project. The result was a 40 minutes Symphonic Poem for Large Orchestra, Female Choir and Soloist called From Earth to Mars: A Symphonic Journey, which premiered in Fort Worth, TX on December 5th 2000 with the TCU Symphony under the composer’s baton. The work was presented a week later in a piano version for a National Convention of the Department of Education with the composer at the piano. Rodríguez also served as the assistant conductor of the Butler Symphony Orchestra and is the co-founder of the recently formed New Millennium Philharmonic Orchestra. Rodríguez traveled as a conductor with this orchestra to Texas and Mexico during the summer of 2002 and recently conducted the same orchestra for the Hispanic Music Festival Concert for Fiesta 2002, organized by Fiesta Indianapolis, Inc. Arturo Rodríguez studied a Piano Performance Certificate with José Feghali at Texas Christian University, where he also studied conducting with Germán Gutiérrez and flute with Karen Adrian. Rodríguez continue his conducting studies with Stanley DeRusha and piano with Panayis Lyras at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he has been working as the Assistant Conductor of the Butler Symphony Orchestra. Last summer Rodriguez participated in the Film Scoring program at the Aspen Music Festival where he studied with John Corigliano, Jeff Rona, and Tom Haines. Rodríguez is preparing the release of his debut CD, which will feature several of his orchestral works.

Instruments Conducting, Piano, Flute

Albums From Earth to Mars: A Symphonic Journey

Press Reviews By Wayne Lee Gay Star-Telegram Classical Music Critic FORT WORTH -- Call it a young composer's dream come true: the chance to conduct an original large-scale choral- orchestral work in a performance with solid, capable college-level ensembles. That's what happened Tuesday to Arturo Rodriguez, 24, a recent graduate of TCU who is enrolled in graduate study at Butler University. (Incidentally, multi-talented Rodriguez has also appeared as piano soloist with the Dallas Symphony and was principal flutist with the TCU Symphony during his undergraduate days here.) In this unusual opportunity for Rodriguez, he conducted the TCU Symphony and members of the TCU Concert Chorale in the premiere of his 40-minute, Straussian tone poem `From Earth to Mars' at Ed Landreth Auditorium on the TCU campus. In terms of style, the seven- movement work was frankly and unashamedly derivative of John Williams' grand sci-fi movie scores. What was remarkable about the piece was the amazing degree to which Rodriguez duplicated Williams' style, including mesmerizing melodies and amazingly skillful orchestration -- always just the right combinations of instruments at just the right times. What's more, the orchestral writing, for large orchestra including a wordless female chorus, was unfailingly effective: the TCU orchestra sounded at its best during every moment. The highly descriptive subject matter was somewhat less convincing. A movement with tenor soloist Richard Estes singing a text in an invented "Martian" language was a charming touch, but the musical depiction of a journey to Mars, on the whole, was self- conscious and self-important. Rodriguez might at this point aim at a career in the lucrative field -- for those who become established -- of composition for films; or he might focus his clearly remarkable talent for writing very appealing music toward traditional concert audiences, who, after decades of academicism in serious music, are hungry for new music that speaks with immediacy. Commissioned by local representatives of the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration, `From Earth to Mars' will be presented at a conference at the White House next week, with Rodriguez presenting part of the work on piano and part of it on a video tape of Tuesday's performance.

Location Indianapolis, IN - USA

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