|
Gutierréz
brings Latin American heritage to TCU The final note still reverberates through the silent concert hall, one perfect sound, carried forever in the souls of the students who shaped it. As the conductor drops weary arms the audience leaps up to show appreciation. Instruments are set aside, triumphant players scanning the crowd for appreciative parents or friends, anyone with whom to share this moment.
They all share it with the man who brought them there, the man who pushed them and trained them until the music overflowed from young souls. Before he turns to acknowledge the overwhelming crowd, German Gutierréz looks into the faces of those students. And a tear falls onto his music. “Not to be emotional is not to be honest with what you are feeling,” said Gutierréz. “What is wrong with dropping a tear because you are so moved by a melody? What is wrong with that? I do not hide my emotions from the podium.” The emotion, Gutierréz said, comes from his upbringing in Colombia. While he has had much success in America, it is his Latin American background that most influences his life, he said. His accolades were achieved while pursuing his first loves— music and family—priorities set by a different way of life. “In Latin America, music is an integral part of our life,” Gutierréz said. “We grew up with music. The same time we eat lunch we have to sing. We have to dance. “When you talk about parties, you are talking about dancing. So when I was invited in this country to my first party, I was waiting for the dance. People were drinking and talking, and I went to see my friend, the one who invited me, and I said, ‘What time the party’s going to start?’” That Latin American heritage is something Gutierréz said he has carried with him into the faster-paced culture of American life. “It’s a different culture (in the United States), it’s such a busy society,” he said. “People are so concerned with working, making money, efficiency. That’s good, to be efficient. But why do you work? You want happiness in your life. And happiness is not on the dollar bill.” That happiness comes through his family, Gutierréz said. “A lot of time is with the family. Family is number one. My wife is not working in this country because we have little kids. And little kids need mom and dad. So as much as we can we need to be with them, to be sure they learn the values they need from a very early age. They learn to love each other, to be close, that we are the best friends they have.” And with his family comes the music. Gutierréz has produced a CD of Latin music with his wife. His children, 8-year-old Nicolas and 7-year-old Gabriel, are both learning Latin music. “I don’t care if they are going to be musicians, of course,” he said. “Music is something (where they can say), ‘Hey, Daddy, I am playing this!’ and I will see them.” Gutierréz has brought his Latin American heritage to TCU through the creation of the Latin American Arts festival. In April, TCU hosted the biennial festival for the third time; the first to focus on all arts, not just music. “As a musician, my responsibility will always be with Latin America, to try to do something for my people, for the music there,” he said. “There is an enormous amount of (Latin American music) yet to be discovered by American audiences. “So that’s what we do with this festival. We commission pieces from important composers. We bring the composers to our festival to interact with students, teach master classes with our faculty. And what happens after that? Then we open doors to Latin America for our people. So there have been 13 faculty members from TCU engaged in major performances in Latin America.” That door opens both ways, as Gutierréz has attracted many students from Latin America to play in TCU’s orchestra program. Scott Sullivan, dean of the College of Fine Arts, said Gutierréz, through recruiting and performing, has impacted the college as a whole. “He knows people,” Sullivan said. “He gets people interested in our programs. He gets them to support our students. That’s not even to mention his abilities as a teacher and conductor.” Because he came to America through music, Gutierréz said he uses music to open doors for students to travel. This summer Gutierréz will travel to Italy to spend 45 days conducting an opera festival. But he won’t be going alone. “The orchestra is integrated by students from major conservatories in Europe. They select the best students. So I said to them, ‘Why don’t you include my school?’ They’d never heard about TCU,” Gutierréz said. “So I invited him to come to TCU. He came last semester, he listened to a concert, and now a majority of the orchestra is going to be from TCU. This is unbelievable for our students. They’ll be in Italy for 45 days playing opera, doing master classes. “So that’s something I do. I get invited, (and I ask), ‘Why don’t you let me bring a faculty member or even a student?’ In my activities I’m not looking for German Gutierréz promotion. How can I use those invitations, that exposure that I am getting to take TCU along with me? I’m not doing the job for myself.” Sullivan agrees that Gutierréz is motivated by the students. “He’s thinking about opportunities (for students) all the time,” Sullivan said. “He has an energy. He has a high degree of professionalism. He has an engaging personality that students like. He’s been a great asset to TCU.” Gutierréz said he will remain at TCU because he has opportunity here he wouldn’t have with a professional orchestra: The opportunity to teach. “The reason that I am in this position is because I am a natural educator. I love teaching,” Gutierréz said. “I have several times the opportunity, offers, to be just the director of orchestra, just dealing with professional musicians. I don’t feel myself comfortable being away from teaching. And that’s where I put most of my energy and my passion. “That’s why I do this job with the youth orchestra. These kids played a concert at the Bass Hall, there were tears in their eyes. They just couldn’t believe they played so beautiful. For me, that is a greater reward than the applause that I get when I do a concert with the Dallas Symphony. The Dallas Symphony is a professional orchestra. These people know what to do. Yes, I can get what I want from them as well when I’m at the podium. But I’m not really teaching them. I’m not getting the raw element to take it to another level. That’s what it should be.” This commitment to education is reflected in Gutierréz’s office on the second floor of Ed Landreth. Framed posters and magazine covers, some English, some Spanish, line the walls. A piano sits in the corner, a showplace for pictures of his students and family. And Gutierréz sits behind a desk littered with music and paperwork, speaking Spanish over the phone but waiting for the best part of his day to begin. “I’m just looking forward to the end of the day to go home and see my kids,” he said. “I wish you could see, every time I open the door, they jump. They just jump. ‘DAD!’ And I start rolling on the carpet with them, playing and whatever. I am a proud dad.” Occasionally for Gutierréz his family life meets his professional one, like this summer when they will travel to Italy with him. But when they do, being a father takes priority over being a professional. Megan Bartlett, a junior vocal performance major, has seen these two sides interact. Last year, after the production of Hansel and Gretel, Bartlett said she watched Gutierréz leave the theater with his wife and kids. As they approached their old station wagon, Gutierréz slung his son’s plastic see-through backpack over his tux and tails and took the small child’s hand in hands that minutes before commanded that powerful orchestra. Bartlett said that is the Gutierréz she will remember: The talented and commanding conductor as vulnerable and loving father. For Gutierréz, that’s what life is all about. John-Mark
Day |
|||
|
TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
||||
