Norman Gamboa tabbed as new head of Aurora Symphony Orchestra

AURORA | Conductor Norman Gamboa has been named as the new musical director of the Aurora Symphony Orchestra, officials announced Tuesday.

Gamboa, who heads the Powder River Symphony in Gillette, Wyo. and will be conducting the National Symphony Orchestra in Guatemala this summer, earned the job after a search  that lasted more than a year. Gamboa, who ASO officials describe as one of the most prominent and accomplished contemporary Latin American conductors, beat out four other finalists for the job.

Gamboa, who was born in Costa Rica and currently resides in Louisiana, has helmed orchestras in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Minnesota, California, and Nevada.

According to Aurora Symphony Orchestra President and Executive Director Rich Duston, Gamboa won the post thanks to his extensive experience and detailed vision for the future of the organization. Gamboa has already sketched out titles for the 2013-14 season, he added.

“(Gamboa) also had considerably more experience than the other candidate that was close to him. Given this time that the symphony is in, we thought that someone with a little bit more experience would be desirable,” Duston said. “We’re trying to double our budget and undertake this strategic plan that we wrote last year. It means turning a big corner for the orchestra.”

The ASO started in 1979 as the 15-member Aurora Civic Orchestra and has grown in size under the leadership of former music director Richard Niezen. The final decision regarding the new music director came down to the symphony’s board of directors, a group that includes a wide range of community leaders. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, Aurora Fire Chief Michael Garcia, Aurora City Councilwoman Debi Hunter-Holen and Deputy Aurora City Manager Michelle Wolfe all serve on the board.

The ASO’s 2013-14 season will formally kick off in September and run until next May. Performances take place at Gateway High School and Vista PEAK Preparatory Academy in Aurora.

“He understands that he becomes the new face of the orchestra,” Duston said. “He wants to get out in the community and shake hands and try to get a lot of people enthused about the orchestra season.”