JESUS MANUEL BERARD, conductor and music director of the District of Columbia Youth Orchestra Program since the 2007-08 season, has stepped down from that post to devote his attention to other professional interests. MARIANO VALES, conductor of DCYOP’s Junior Orchestra, will serve as interim conductor and music director for 2013-14. Also director of the Music Program at the Organization of American States, Vales has been conducting vocal and instrumental ensembles for more than 20 years, often as a guest conductor and teacher in the Caribbean region. Prior to joining the DCYOP conducting staff in 2008 he was music director of the experimental ensemble Musica Aperta. Vales is a graduate of Yale University, Florida State University, and Universidad Católica Argentina.
Posted September 24, 2013
