The Venezuelan-born, Spanish conductor José Luis Gomez was catapulted to international attention when he won First Prize at the International Sir Georg Solti Conductors’ Competition in 2010 in Frankfurt. Gomez’s electrifying presence, talent, creativity, and energy quickly earned him admiration among the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra’s musicians and their music director Paavo Jarvi, immediately launching his conducting career.
Music Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra since 2016, Gomez has consistently crafted compelling programs, many of which are juxtaposed with lesser-known composers from South America whom he champions, expanding and enriching the orchestra’s repertoire. He’s worked diligently to provide innovative and engaging outreach activities and education projects, as well as new commissions.
Recent and upcoming highlights include appearances with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), conducting a new piece by Paquito D’Rivera performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Indianapolis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Perú. In Europe, he’s conducted the RTVE National Symphony Orchestra, in Madrid, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (HR), Weimar Staatskapelle, Royal Scottish National, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hamburg Symphony, SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, and the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin.
Equally at home in operatic repertoire, Gomez has led performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Puccini’s La Bohème at the Frankfurt Opera, Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Stuttgart Opera, Verdi’s La Forza del Destino in Tokyo at the New National Theatre.