Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducts the Houston Symphony. Photo: Anthony Rathbun
“Since 2013, his first season with the symphony, [Andrés] Orozco-Estrada … took the Houston Symphony to Europe and South America; he engaged audiences with discussions and helped the symphony create a digital presence,” writes Andrew Dansby in Sunday’s (4/24) Houston Chronicle. Orozco-Estrada concludes his tenure as the Houston Symphony’s music director at the end of this season. “ ‘He brought an incredible creativity to this position,’ says John Mangum, CEO of the Houston Symphony…. Orozco-Estrada suggests three weekend performances April 29, 30 and May 1 are not a farewell, but more an ‘hasta luego,’ he says, ‘until later.’ … During his tenure, he has overseen the hire of more than two dozen instrumentalists…. Orozco-Estrada’s presentation of Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 3 may be the memory that endures most … He felt the spirituals and vocal parts in Ives’ composition could reach those who found the piece too difficult … and invited the audience to sing along…. ‘When I saw this was something the orchestra wanted and, more importantly, something the audience enjoyed, it was like discovering a part of me I didn’t know,’ he says…. Orozco-Estrada hardly shied away from the classics … but …‘You also have to listen to those making music today.’ ”
