Fall 2019: Beautifully Orchestrated
Raúl Munguia likens his job to that of a magician. When the spotlight is hot, a paying audience is in their seats and his wand is primed and ready, it’s time for a show.
“It’s the job of the conductor to manage the magic on stage,” said Munguia, the Music Director and Conductor of the Southeast Kansas Symphony at Pittsburg State University. “My wand is the silent instrument.”
Munguia is now in his seventh year as an associate professor of music and the symphony conductor at PSU, and there’s actually been no trickery involved in the way he has built the program, just a lot of hard work, relationship building and nurturing of talent.
“I was hired to energize (the symphony),” he explained. “Music is totally different than teaching a regular class. It goes well beyond the classroom. It’s about collaboration and bringing the best out of the students.”