OFJ NEWSLETTERS

Life often has mysterious paths. Enrique Radillo, assistant conductor at the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (OFJ), did not have his encounter with music at a very young age, "in reality, what happens is that I discovered that I had a hidden talent that came up one time when I was I was looking at some music books and the strange and beautiful writing caught my attention”; and it was from then on that he became interested in music in formal terms.

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The above happened to the musician when he was 17 years old, "and I quickly started to investigate and I found the Music School of the UdeG, where I began the Piano career, and then to Colima to study the Bachelor of Music with specialty in Orchestral Conducting, four years in which I was taking courses focused on conducting, where possible, because I decided to focus on conducting”.

Training and experience

Thanks to these courses, Radillo had the opportunity to go to work as an orchestra librarian in Querétaro, where he contacted in 2008 the person who directed the OFJ at the time, Mtro. Héctor Guzmán, “and he offered me a job directing, first, and then he told me that there was a vacancy in the library, as an assistant, after that he named me his assistant and after that period I returned to the library, until January of this year, when I assume the assistance of the titular director, José Luis Castillo”.

During this period, the musician did not stop taking classes “with private teachers who had an orchestra, where I also had the opportunity to direct; thus, he was in charge of orchestras in Monterrey, Toluca, Jalapa, the Carlos Chávez orchestra, all of that was part of my experience as an orchestra director”.

Radillo details that “one can dedicate oneself to concert performances, composition, music teaching or choral conducting; in the university there is a common trunk and there we chose what most attracted us, the piano was the base and from there one had elections, I took the path of directing”.

The attraction of the discipline, the musician explains, lies in the fact that he was surprised “how a director could read so many musical lines at the same time; I also liked the way they handled the orchestra, their dialogue and communication with the entire ensemble, that is their instrument and it is alive, and making it 'move' is not something difficult, something that takes effort, study and dedication”.

New opportunities

Facing a new opportunity at the OFJ, “I work with the director”, says Radillo, “and we focus on programming works for the second season of this year; I was not used to working with someone so closely and I am more involved in musical matters, extraordinary concerts, forging programs, many things”.

The assistant director emphasizes what the Ministry of Culture has reported about how outings to municipalities will increase, “which implies developing programs that can bring people closer to classical music, which now implies more formal activities; I think that each director has his style for this and I learn from each one of them. We must also attend to the pandemic, because we think that it is not a full orchestra but a chamber ensemble ”.

Convinced that he now faces his conducting assistance "with greater responsibilities", Radillo pursues "taking this on the right track" and, after all, his experience has shown him that "I perceive the sound of the orchestra to be very mature ; despite the youth of some performers, he is very mature, very amalgamated. They have been playing together for about five years and I think the sections have blended together, and that makes it sound very good; in fact, the result of the recent concerts is very gratifying”.