JUAN PALACIOS, OUR YOUTH ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR
by Kate Fitzsimmons
Sometimes the stars align to create moments of special import. That’s how we feel here at ELM in announcing the addition of our new conductor and teaching artist, Juan Cristóbal Palacios.
His illustrious international career began in Venezuela where he studied music from an early age. Palacios left to attend college at Boston University and later at Yale, under the tutelage of Eiji Oue and Eleazar de Carvalho. During that time, he conducted the premiere of more than fifty works while writing music and studying the classical repertoire. In the summers, he attended the Aspen Music Festival and the Monteux School and Music Festival.
Palacios made his professional debut at the age of 24, as a guest conductor with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Since then, he has been invited to conduct prestigious orchestras, both in Venezuela and internationally. Once he finished his formal studies, he became President and Music Director of the Fundación Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Chacao in Caracas, Venezuela.
In 2010, he began working with the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory where he was a conductor, instrumental teacher and chamber music teacher.
“A couple of years ago,” Palacios said, “I began wondering if there was something else I could do musically and pedagogically. About that time, I was fortunate enough to meet Jane through a joint colleague. I'm absolutely grateful that happened. Jane explained ELM’s program to me. I was enchanted by all the things that she planned to do in the future for the program. While the timing was not right then, the cosmos came together recently which made my coming here possible.”
He explained that ELM is the first program he has found that is really interacting with the whole community in so many ways. “I walked into rehearsals recently and I saw about five or six volunteers tutoring kids, helping them to read. That is the first time in my life that I saw in a ‘music program’ what is really an approach to the community in a holistic way. It isn’t just intellectual; I am talking about the human side of things. Everything from helping with learning to helping families access necessities like food and other needed services. It isn’t just teaching kids music.”
Palcacios learned that ELM has a dedicated high school and college counselor who helps the students apply to college and encourages them to think about their post-graduation plans as early as middle school. If a student is struggling academically, ELM finds someone to tutor the student.
His enthusiasm for the program shines through, “Jane is someone who has an imagination that has no limits. I can see how ELM students grow as human beings, not just as musicians. By bringing in the whole family and making the family part of the process, Jane keeps her ears open as to what is needed in the community. She is amazing.”
Palacios added, “As I learn about the different elements of this unfolding equation, I realize that my job is not just to take the kids to the next level musically, but socially as well. A primary goal for ELM is to create a feeling of belonging and a sense of community for their students and families, and to support the students’ growth as human beings. That is something I wish our entire educational system would emphasize more. I feel lucky to be part of this.”