Juanjo Mena (also known as Juan José Mena; born 21 September 1965,

Vitoria-Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Basque Country, Spain) is a Spanish conductor.

Biography

Mena began his music studies at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Conservatory. He later attended the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Moste ...

, where his teachers included

Carmelo Bernaola Carmelo Alonso Bernaola (16 July 1929 5 June 2002) was a Spanish composer and clarinetist from Basque Country. A member of the Generation of '51, he was one of the most influential composers in the Spanish musical scene of the second half of t ...

(composition and orchestration) and

Enrique García Asensio Enrique García Asensio (born 22 August 1937 in Valencia, Spain) is a Spanish orchestral conductor. In 1970, He was made as Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservator ...

(conducting). He also studied conducting with

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; 14 August 1996) was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures ...

in Munich on a Guridi-Bernaola scholarship. In 1997, the

Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...

selected Mena to form the Youth Orchestra of

Euskal Herria The Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herria; es, País Vasco; french: Pays basque) is the name given to the home of the Basque people. Trask, R.L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge: 1997 The Basque country is located in the western Pyrenees, str ...

. He subsequently became associate conductor of the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra. From 1999 to 2008, Mena was artistic director and principal conductor of the

Bilbao Symphony Orchestra Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa (BOS) (Spanish: Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, unofficial English translation: Bilbao Symphony Orchestra) is a symphony orchestra based in Bilbao, Basque Country. History The orchestra's first concert was on May 8 ...

. With the Bilbao orchestra, he conducted commercial recordings for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

of music by

Jesús Guridi Jesús Guridi Bidaola (25 September 1886 – 7 April 1961) was a Spanish Basque composer who was a key player in 20th-century Spanish and Basque music. His style fits into the late Romantic idiom, directly inherited from Wagner, and with a stron ...

and Andrés Isasi. His guest-conducting debut in North America was with the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

in 2004. Mena served as principal guest conductor of the

Teatro Carlo Felice The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari. The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, and dates fro ...

, Genoa from 2007 to 2010. He was principal guest conductor of the

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall. History Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...

from 2007 to 2013. In July 2010, the

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Med ...

announced the appointment of Mena as its ninth chief conductor, effective with the 2011–2012 season, with an initial contract of three years, leading twelve concerts per year. Mena directed the BBC Philharmonic in four concerts prior to his appointment. In 2013, Mena extended his contract with the BBC Philharmonic for an additional 3 years. He concluded his tenure as chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in the summer of 2018. Mena and the BBC Philharmonic have commercially recorded music of

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germ ...

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

, and of

Xavier Montsalvatge Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols (; 11 March 1912 – 7 May 2002) was a Spanish composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century. Biography Life Montsalvatge ...

for the Chandos label. In 2016, the

Orquesta Nacional de España The Orquesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Orchestra) is a symphonic orchestra that is based in Madrid, Spain. History Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the mergin ...

named Mena its new 'Director Asociado' (principal guest conductor). In October 2016, the

Cincinnati May Festival The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, held in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. History The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when '' Saengerfests'' were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United St ...

announced the appointment of Mena as its new principal conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. His contract was extended, ending with the 2023 May Festival. Mena and his wife Noemi have two children. In January 2017, Mena was awarded the ''Medalla de Oro de Álava''.

References

External links

Official Juanjo Mena homepage, English-language link

IMG Artists profile of Juanjo Mena

Cincinnati May Festival profile of Juanjo Mena

Richard Wigley, BBC Radio 3 Blog page on appointment of Mena as chief conductor

ClassicsToday.com review of Naxos CD 8.557631

ClassicsToday.com review of Naxos CD 8.557110

ClassicsToday.com review of Naxos CD 8.557584
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mena, Juanjo Spanish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Basque classical musicians People from Vitoria-Gasteiz Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom 1965 births Living people 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians 21st-century Spanish musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Spanish male musicians 20th-century Spanish musicians