Tito Muñoz

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Biography

Born in Flushing, Queens, Muñoz first studied music in the New York City Public School System, where he took up violin at the Louis Armstrong Middle School. He was recommended to the Music Advancement Program at the Juilliard School as a violin student of Hisako Resnick. He later began composition studies with Amanda Harberg.

Muñoz attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts where he had his first public performance as a conductor, leading Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. [cite news | author=Mary Ellen Hutton | title=Meet Tito Munoz | url=http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/features_2007/Meet_Tito_Munoz.html | work=Cincinnati Post | date=08 Feb 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] He performed in many ensembles during his high school years, including the InterSchool Orchestras of New York and the New York Youth Symphony. He also attended the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Division where he studied violin with Jonathan Strasser and composition with Alexander Yagupsky, and received the Richard Kimball Composition Award. During those summers, Muñoz attended the Kinhaven Music School and Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. [cite news | title=Talented Latino Moves to Cincinnati | url=http://www.midwestlatino.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=839 | work=Midwest Latino | date=01 Nov 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-10]

In 1999, Muñoz attended the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts and was given the opportunity to conduct several ensembles, as well as a fully-staged Broadway musical production. He later returned to the Festival in 2001 and 2003 as faculty, where he taught violin and served as staff conductor.

Muñoz began undergraduate studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, as a violin student of Orion String Quartet member Daniel Phillips. As a conductor, he organized many student performances, conducted the school's orchestras on several occasions, and collaborated with faculty in concerto performances. [cite news | title=Tito Muñoz Biography | url=http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Musicians/munoz.asp | work=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | accessdate=2007-09-10] He was also featured with the Queens College Orchestra as conductor for vocal group Amici Forever on their 2005 PBS television special and internationally released DVD. [cite news | title=Full Cast and Crew for Amici Forever: in Concert | url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459639/fullcredits | work=Internet Movie Database | date=20 Apr 2005 | accessdate=2007-09-10]

In the summers of 2004-2006, Muñoz attended the Aspen Music Festival and School as a student in the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen where he studied with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin. He also participated in master classes with many notable conductors including Asher Fisch, George Manahan, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano and John Williams. He won the Festival's 2005 Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize and the 2006 Aspen Conducting Prize and was invited by Zinman to debut with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center in 2006. [cite news | author=Susannah Luthi | title=Tito Muñoz takes the podium for 8/2 concert | url=http://www.titomunoz.com/press/2006.07.31.html | work=Aspen Times | date=31 July 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-10] [cite news | author=Donald Rosenberg | title=Orchestra pays graceful respect to departed musicians | url=http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/reviews/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_reviews/archives/2006_08.html#171789 | work=Cleveland Plain Dealer | date=13 Aug 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-10] He was appointed Assistant Conductor of the festival for the summer of 2007. [cite news | author=Janice Berman | title=Leading the Leaders | url=http://www.sfcv.org/2007/08/28/leading-the-leaders/ | work=San Francisco Classical Voice | date=28 Aug 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10]

After catching the attention of Leonard Slatkin, Muñoz was accepted into the National Conducting Institute in 2006 and subsequently made his National Symphony Orchestra debut conducting Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. [cite news | author=Tim Page | title=Promising Young Conductors Take Center Stage | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101120_pf.html | work=Washington Post | date=22 May 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-10]

In May 2006, at the age of 22, Muñoz was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra by Paavo Järvi. [cite news | author=Carrie Krysanick | title=Tito Muñoz to Join Conducting Staff | url=http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Media/releases/Munoz_newAsst.asp | work=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | date=10 May 2006 | accessdate=2007-09-10] He made his debut with the orchestra in February 2007 conducting a family concert. [cite news | title=Fine Arts Fund Sampler Concert | url=http://cincinnatisymphony.net/Events/Details/feb11_SAMPCON0607.asp | work=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | accessdate=2007-09-10] [cite news | author=Mary Ellen Hutton | title=CSO, Munoz Kickoff Fine Arts Fund Campaign | url=http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/news_2007/CSO_Munoz_Kick_Off_Fine_Arts_Fund_Campaign.html | work=Cincinnati Post | date=12 Feb 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] That same month, he replaced an ill Krzysztof Penderecki to make his critically-acclaimed subscription debut, with violinist Chee-Yun as soloist. [cite news | author=Carrie Krysanick | title=Tito Muñoz Marks Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Subscription Debut with Colorful Program | url=http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Media/releases/titomunoz.asp | work=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | date=23 Jan 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] [cite news | author=Mary Ellen Hutton | title=Munoz, Chee-Yun Lighten Drab Night | url=http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/reviews_2007/Munoz_Chee-Yun_Brighten_Drab_Night.html | work=Cincinnati Post | date=26 Feb 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] [cite news | author=Janelle Gelfand | title=Young Conductor Shows His Skills | url=http://www.titomunoz.com/press/2007.02.26.enquirer.html | work=Cincinnati Enquirer | date=26 Feb 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] He made his Cincinnati Pops debut in March 2007, performing with the Celtic Tenors. [cite news | author=Carrie Krysanick | title=Get Your Irish On with The Celtic Tenors | url=http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Media/releases/celtictenors.asp | work=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | date=16 Feb 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10]

In April 2007, Muñoz was appointed Assistant Conductor/American Symphony Orchestra League Conducting Fellow of The Cleveland Orchestra by Franz Welser-Möst. [cite news | author=Donald Rosenberg | title=Cincinnati conductor to start Cleveland Orchestra residency | url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/don_rosenberg/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1181810089292680.xml&coll=2 | work=Cleveland Plain Dealer | date=14 June 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-10] He made his European debut with the Orchestre Lyrique de Région Avignon-Provence in December 2007. On January 15, 2008, Muñoz was announced as a candidate for Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, to succeed Edvard Tchivzhel; he will make his debut with the orchestra on September 20, 2008. [Fort Wayne Philharmonic website]

Muñoz is managed exclusively by Opus 3 Artists.

References

External links

* [http://www.titomunoz.com Tito Muñoz official website]
* [http://www.opus3artists.com/artists/tito-munoz Tito Muñoz artist page] at Opus 3 Artists
* [http://www.clevelandorch.com/html/about/tito.munoz.asp Tito Muñoz biography] at The Cleveland Orchestra
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvc8kZrNMtw Video of Muñoz conducting Stravinsky] on YouTube