OMAHA, Neb., Sep. 28, 2022 — The Omaha Symphony has named Alejandro Gómez Guillén as the
orchestra’s assistant conductor beginning in the 2022/23 season, effective November 2022. Guillén
comes to Omaha after serving six seasons as artistic director and conductor of the Bloomington
Symphony Orchestra and completing a successful tenure as associate conductor of the Fort Worth
Symphony Orchestra. He will retain his position as music director of Denver’s Sphere Ensemble
throughout his appointment as the Omaha Symphony’s assistant conductor.

“In Alejandro we found our perfect next partner to join the conducting staff of the Omaha
Symphony. His strong conducting ability paired with his innate musicianship and sincerity were
clear throughout our audition process as was his commitment to community and music education.
We are so pleased to welcome him and his wife to the Omaha Symphony family and the greater
Omaha metropolitan area! We are confident that his presence will enrich all aspects of what we do at
the Omaha Symphony – both in and out of the concert hall,” says Maestro Ankush Kumar Bahl as he
looks forward to working closely with Maestro Gómez Guillén.

As assistant conductor, Maestro Gómez Guillén will be responsible for conducting one of three
Omaha Symphony Family Concerts and helping to spearhead artistic planning of education
programs. Additionally, he will help shape and conduct most of the orchestra’s education and
community-driven projects. Guillén will work closely with Omaha Symphony Director of Education
and Community Engagement Liz Kendall Weisser on designing innovative programs that will serve
the needs of the community’s students and educators. Kendall Weisser is also confident that Guillén
aligns well with the goals of Omaha Symphony’s Forte initiative, “Forte is rooted in creating
collaborative musical experiences through the leveraging and amplifying talents of our diverse
community, and Maestro’s breadth of experience will support this initiative beautifully. I look
forward to connecting Maestro Gómez Guillén with all the artists and neighborhoods that make up
our vibrant city.”

Guillén will also work closely with Music Director Ankush Kumar Bahl and Resident & Principal
Pops Conductor Ernest Richardson, studying each program and offering artistic feedback in the
rehearsal process. This will prepare him to lead the orchestra in case Bahl, Richardson, or any guest
conductor is unable to perform.

Guillén speaks with great enthusiasm about his new appointment stating, “It is an honor to join an
organization that successfully builds community through the thrill of orchestral music, and I look
forward to conducting a wide range of programs while continuing to uphold this meaningful
purpose. I truly enjoyed getting to know the orchestra musicians, staff, and Maestro Bahl during the
search process, and I am excited to meet many more members of the Omaha Symphony family!”

About Alejandro Gómez Guillén
Conductor and violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén is passionate about sharing music in a way that is
compelling, uplifting, and educational. He has completed six seasons as artistic director and conductor
of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, with which he recently led the Indiana premiere of Florence
Price’s Fourth Symphony to local acclaim. He also completed a successful tenure as associate
conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, leading multiple community classics, pops, outdoor,
bilingual and educational concerts, including collaborations with artists such as Time for Three and
mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte. Additionally, he is music director of Denver’s Sphere Ensemble which
explores the intersection of masterpieces of string ensemble music with multi-part custom
arrangements from piano pieces, pop, rock and world music masters. The group’s recordings are
available through all music streaming platforms. Alejandro also serves as acting
concertmaster/principal second violin of West Texas Symphony and violinist of the Permian Basin
and Chasqui Quartets, and he has also served as Freeman conducting fellow with Chicago
Sinfonietta, associate conductor of Boulder Symphony and music director of Cantabile.
Recent activities include serving as cover conductor for the symphonies of Indianapolis with Jun
Märkl and Carlos Kalmar, Fort Worth with Robert Spano, Ruth Rheinhardt, and Andrew Grams,
Dallas with Matthew Halls, planned performances with the Chicago Sinfonietta (cancelled due to the
pandemic), and leading Tulsa’s Signature Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, MidlandOdessa Symphony & Chorale, SingFest Hong Kong, Bogotá’s Javeriana University, Bloomington Bach
Cantata Project, and Midland Festival Ballet. He appeared as part of the Oregon Bach Festival
conducting masterclass with public performances of Bach’s B minor Mass, St. John Passion, and the
Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Oratorios. Additional activities include the Bloomington Early
Music Festival, Tonos del Sur, Weimarer Bachkantaten Akademie, Junges Stuttgarter Bach
Ensemble, ¡Canta, Bogotá Canta!, Santander Choral Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Tonos del Sur at
Berkeley Festival, Permian Basin Opera, a fellowship with SphinxConnect, and a residency in his
native Colombia with Batuta.

Committed to working with young artists, Alejandro has served as assistant professor of music at
Colorado Mesa University where he taught violin, viola, courses in symphonic literature, string
pedagogy and chamber music, as well as conducted the chamber and symphony orchestras. He
served as music director of the Colorado Youth Philharmonia and has led performances with Off
Broadway School of Fine Arts in Boulder, Javeriana University Symphony Orchestra, Spokane
Youth Symphony, University of Colorado Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and Falcon Music
Camps at the University of Texas Permian Basin.

Alejandro enjoys leading Mozart and Haydn concertos from the violin in recent and upcoming
seasons. He was concertmaster of Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Amherst Early Music
Festival, and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, with which he toured Germany and Italy including
performances at Rheingau Music Festival and Berlin Philharmonie. He also returned to Oregon Bach
Festival as a member of the Berwick Academy for Historical Performance.

Alejandro had a rich musical upbringing as a chorister and violinist in his native Colombia. Following
a move to the United States he pursued a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Texas
Christian University and Master of Music degrees in conducting and violin performance from the
University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from the same
institution, and his doctoral research includes a critical edition of Colombian composer Jorge Pinzón’s
violin concerto, and a guide using selected dances from Bach’s orchestral suites in their original form
for developing orchestras through a historically informed approach to playing on modern
instruments. His mentors include Gary Lewis, Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, and Mei-Ann Chen.
When not playing, leading ensembles, or reveling in the music of Bach, Alejandro enjoys singing, trail
running, and making music with his wife, violinist Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Cranor and their Duo
Anthracite.