A National Career

As a member of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela, Manuel has taken on big responsibility from an early age. In 2003, he was named Conductor of Núcleo El Tigre, Anzoátegui state: “I went for 2 months and stayed for 3 years. I went as a Guest Conductor. Then they made a seminar and asked me to stay, and I did”, he tells us excitedly.

Then in 2006 he moved to Los Teques —capital of Miranda state, to begin working with Gregory Carreño, who is in charge of the state’s youth orchestra. Here he had a chance to conduct the Miranda State Children’s Foundation Orchestra, which he still leads.

He also has had the opportunity to participate as a guest conductor for many orchestras nationwide, like the Simón Bolívar of Táchira State, the Falcón State, the Mérida State, the Miranda State, and the Yaracuy State Symphony Orchestras. When he talks about El Sistema, Manuel insists that it is his life: “It is like my blood. It was the door that allowed me to enter into this wonderful world of music”.

Beyond Our Borders

After beginning in the world of orchestra conducting, Manuel has dedicated all his effort to project his performance with the baton. His first appearance in foreign lands was in 2007 participating in the “Eduardo Mata” Contest in Mexico. “It was quite a nice experience, the only qualified from Latin America were a Brazilian and I”, he remembers.

Continuing his trek in the world, he recently participated in the International Conductor’s Contest “Sir George Solti” in Frankfurt, Germany, a country featuring a high level of instrumentation, excellent orchestras, famous composers, and renowned conductors, among other musical fields.

He remembers that he attended a conducting master class with Master Sung Kwak in Maracaibo, Zulia state, who motivated him to register for the contest. “I followed Master Kwak’s suggestion and I submitted my paperwork. Then I received mail by Axel Schlicksupp —the contest’s Managing Director, confirming my selection from the 524 applications, to participate with 24 other directors from all over the world”, he said enthusiastically, and then added: “I was the only South American among all the participants. The rest were Europeans and North Americans”.

Despite not making it to the finals, it was a great motivation for Manuel to have been selected and make it to the semifinal round of such a prestigious contest. “Beyond the experience of participating in the contest, the opportunity to interact with such an important orchestra as the Frankfurt Museumorchester was very big for me”, he said. And this is how Manuel takes on a new course in his conducting performance.

For and To El Sistema

Besides his education along the years, Manuel also contributes with his work for the expansion of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela. “I believe that my best gift is to keep pressing forward, conducting and shaping orchestras, to set my country up high”.

His ascent as a conductor has been very fast. He talked with Abreu at the beginning, whom assigned his first lessons immediately. Then he took a course with Master Eduardo Marturet in 2002. One of the greatest chances that El Sistema offers to its students is lessons with international professors. Manuel did not miss these chances and took courses with masters Sung Kwak and Wolfang Tromer, and even with Lara state’s Gustavo Dudamel.

“I think that that was my base, because my goal was conducting. That is a major advantage that we have here because this is the only country in the world with more orchestras than conductors, and Master Sung Kwak always says that when he comes. There is a fabulous musical life in Europe, but they do not have the opportunities that we have here. A conductor’s instrument is the orchestra; and here we have the opportunity to lead an orchestra from the first steps, and that is the best school“.

—Which has been the best concert?

—My next concert will be the best one, I will always think like that. There is always a chance to do it better and that is my goal before standing on the podium. I think that it will be so until my last concert, which I hope will be when I am very old, and then that will be my best concert of all.