Jose Luis Gomez

Jose Luis Gomez is a conductor who serves as music director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, where he leads a full season of programs, and also appears with Symphony San Jose. His concerts often bring together Spanish, Latin American, and central European repertoire in the same evening, from Rodrigo's guitar concerto to Bartok and Brahms.

Across this season's programs, Gomez favors pairing familiar orchestral staples with less commonly heard companion pieces, often drawn from Spanish and Latin American composers. Listeners can expect concerts built around a clear anchor work, such as Rodrigo's guitar concerto "Concierto de Aranjuez," Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra," or Brahms' "German Requiem," surrounded by shorter overtures, dances, or symphonies that set up a mood or contrast in scale. He also programs large-scale narrative works, including Ravel's ballet score "Daphnis et Chloe" and Mahler's Symphony No. 7, suggesting a willingness to sustain long musical arcs. The mix of Haydn and Mozart symphonies alongside Sibelius and Rachmaninoff points to a conductor comfortable moving between crisp classical-era clarity and the fuller, more expansive sound of late Romantic orchestras.