Grant Park Symphony Orchestra conductor Giancarlo Guerrero says he's living a dream come true
Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero lives for music — pulling the best out of every player in an orchestra in the most dramatic way.
Guerrero has traveled the world performing. Recently, he sat down with CBS News Chicago to talk about the challenges he has faced, and the full-circle moment that has led to his dream job as principal conductor of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago.
The Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, designed by architect Frank Gehry, has been home to the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra since the park opened in 2004 — having succeeded the Petrillo Music Shell a jog to the south. Chicagoans know and love the pavilion, and tourists are instantly amazed by it — with steel ribbons framing the stage, pipes arching over the manicured lawn, and striking red seats at the front. Then, of course, there are the acoustics.
"There is no limit to what we can do," said Guerrero.
The Pritzker Pavilion is also where Guerrero will lead the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra as the new artistic director and principal conductor.
"I find it incredibly a gift of the universe that I am back in Chicago now, at the Grant Park Music Festival," said Guerrero.
But the world-renowned artist never forgets the challenges he faced making it to the main stage.
Guerrero was born in Nicaragua, where civil wars forced his family to escape to Costa Rica. There, they signed Guerrero up for the youth symphony program.
Classical music was a major change from what Guerrero heard from home.
"In my household, there was no Mozart or Beethoven," Guerrero said. "It was either Julio Iglesias for my mother, or mariachi for my father."
Guerrero was not immediately drawn to conducting. Instead, he wanted to play violin — for other reasons.
"I think there may have been a girl involved in it," he said. "I liked somebody, and I wanted to be just next to that person… it's always the case."
But the violin sign-up line was long. So Guerrero tried the drums instead, and earned a scholarship to Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
"I spoke no English," he said. "It was very special. I was so welcomed into that community in the 1980s."
It was Guerrero's studies that led him from percussion to actually being a conductor.
"One of the classes that you take when you go to music school — composition, counterpoint, and conducting," he said, "and at the end of the semester, the conducting teacher came to me and said, 'You may want to pursue this.'"
Guerrero then came to Northwestern University, got his master's degree, and fell in love with Chicago. But he knew he had to hone his skills in other places first — so he returned to Costa Rica to conduct a band and a small choir.
Next, he went to Venezuela, where he landed his first orchestra conductor role. After that, opportunities started streaming in from all over Europe.
"Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Madrid, Rome," Guerrero said.
Opportunities have also come up across the U.S. He served as director of the Nashville Symphony for 16 seasons, and will also begin his first full season as music director of the Sarasota Orchestra in Florida in September.
Guerrero is also a six-time Grammy Award winner.
But for the rest of us, we had to ask, what does a conductor actually do? There's a drama, a showmanship, and a great deal of technique and study — but what does it mean to command or direct an orchestra?
"It looks like you're just directing traffic in many ways," said Guerrero.
He explained most of what he does is wave the baton down, to the left, to the right, and to up — or, "floor, window, window, ceiling" — for a 4/4, or common, time signature pattern.
Guerrero said that while the eyes are most powerful in terms of communication between people, hand gestures are also important, as demonstrated by a conductor.
"With your gestures, you indicate how you want a certain phrase moved — or faster or slower, or where you want to breathe," he said. "That's where the magic happens."
About 12 years ago, there was more magic and a homecoming of sorts. Guerrero was invited to be a guest conductor for the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra — and kept coming back.
But it wasn't until last year, when Guerrero thought he was just conducting as a guest again, that something changed.
"Honestly, I really didn't know that there was a search going on," he said.
The orchestra was looking for a new conductor. The performance has year was actually an audition, and he nailed it.
"This is definitely a dream come true," Guerrero said.
He advanced from rehearsals to an official debut, where the crowd braved the rain to see him in action in a masterful performance.
"there's nothing more beautiful than looking out from the stage, into the lawn, and seeing thousands of your neighbors, and your friends, and your citizens of this community come together for one purpose, which is their love of music," Guerrero said, "and that, to me, was honestly the one thing that is completely irresistible."
Guerrero said he loves how bold the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra is — willing to perform more than just the greatest hits. He noted that the orchestra pushes boundaries to showcase diverse artists and contemporary music too.