JORGE LHEZ

Recognized as one of the most complete and versatile Argentine orchestral and choral conductor, Jorge Lhez is the former music director of the Symphony Orchestra of Salta, one of the best symphony orchestra in his native Argentina. Under his direction, the orchestra has quickly gained recognition and was ranked this year among the three best professional Argentinean orchestras by the National Critics Association.

Prior to his appointment with the Symphony Orchestra of Salta in 2013, Mr. Lhez was music director of the Orquesta Municipal de Cámara de Río IV (1993 – 2000), Orquesta Sinfónica de Corrientes (1996), Camerata de la Fundación Pro Arte Córdoba (1997), and the Orquesta Estable de la provincia de Tucumán (2006). In addition to working with the Symphony Orchestra of Salta, he directs Antiqua Camera, Choir and the Chamber Orchestra of the Catholic University of Salta, where he also serves as director of the Music School, where he founded an Antique Music Institute who has an annual International Barroque Festival, with the most important baroque music artist. He is also Artistic Director of Way of Faith Chamber Music Festival at Salta, and International Music Festival (FIMA) at Antofagasta, CHILE.

He has a degree of Opera Music Director from Art´s Institute from Colon Theatre.

Mr. Lhez has guest conducted the principal orchestras of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile,Colombia, Ecuador, and Italy, specially the Philarmonic, and National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina and Academic Orchestra of Colon Theatre.
Among the distinguished international soloists he has accompanied Milton Masciadri, Contrabass, violinist Erzhan Kulibaev and Marianna Vasileva, bassoonist Sophie Dartigalongue from the Vienna Philharmonic, oboist Christoph Hartmann from Berlin Philarmonic, and other important international soloist.

An outstanding participant in several international conducting competitions, Mr. Lhez won the first prize in the 1996 Latin American Conducting Competition and the 2004 “Simón Blech” International Competition, both in Argentina,

Mr. Lhez studied piano in Buenos Aires with Aldo Antognazzi, and harmony, composition, and analysis with Sergio Hualpa. His conducting teachers include Pedro Ignacio Calderón in Argentina, Eleazar de Carvalho in Brazil, and Harold Fabermann and Donald Portnoy in the United States. In addition, he was chosen as one of the five active participants in the conducting master class given by Kurt Masur in the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires during the 1997 South American tour of the New York Philharmonic.

As Composer, he has written many choral works and chamber music