Juanjo Mena (born Juan José Mena; born 21 September 1965) is a Spanish

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Biography

Mena was born in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

, in the Basque Country, where he began his music studies at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Conservatory. He later attended the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory () 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 Mostenses Square, Madrid. In 1852 it was moved to the Roy ...

, where his teachers included Carmelo Bernaola (composition and orchestration) and

Enrique García Asensio Enrique García Asensio (born 22 August 1937 in Valencia (city in Spain), Valencia, Spain) is a Spanish violinist, composer and conducting, conductor. In 1970, He was made as Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. As ...

(conducting). He also studied conducting with

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...

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

Basque Government The Basque Government (, ; ) 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 Parliament every four years, after a re ...

selected Mena to form the Youth Orchestra of

Euskal Herria The Basque Country (; ; ) 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, straddling the border between France and Spain on the co ...

. 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. 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 ...

of music by Jesús Guridi and Andrés Isasi. His guest-conducting debut in North America was with the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) 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, ...

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. History The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, a ...

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

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra ( Norwegian: Bergen filharmoniske orkester) 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 M ...

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 Media ...

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 a 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 half of the 20t ...

, and of Xavier Montsalvatge for the Chandos label. In 2016, the

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

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 music, 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 ...

announced the appointment of Mena as its new principal conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. Mena stood down as principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival in 2023. Mena and his wife Noemi have two children. In January 2017, Mena was awarded the ''Medalla de Oro de Álava''. In January 2025, Mena announced via social media his diagnosis of early-stage

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. However, he has continued to conduct.

References

External links

Official Juanjo Mena homepage, English-language link

IMG Artists 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 1965 births Living people Spanish male conductors (music) Basque classical musicians People from Vitoria-Gasteiz Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom 21st-century Spanish conductors (music) 21st-century Spanish male musicians 20th-century Spanish conductors (music) 20th-century Spanish male musicians Principal conductors of the BBC Philharmonic