José Luis Gomez Extends Tenure as Music Director of the Tucson Symphony Through 2029-30 Season

The Tucson Symphony is delighted to announce that Music Director José Luis Gomez, who began his tenure in September 2017, has signed a three-year contract extension. His current contract runs through the 2026-27 season, and this new extension extends his tenure through the 2029-30 season including the TSO’s centennial season in 2028-29.

Appointed Music Director-Designate in November 2016, José Luis Gomez has led the TSO in bold new artistic and community-focused directions. As the TSO’s first-ever Spanish-speaking Music Director in its 97-year history, he has been driven by a passionate desire to connect with the heritage of Southern Arizona. In his first season, he conducted the orchestra to an audience of 150,000 in the Día de los Muertos parade in downtown Tucson. Since 2021 he has led the annual Mexican Independence Day concert, invited collaborations with indie Tucson-based groups Orkesta Mendoza and Calexico, and initiated an annual series ¡Celebración latina!, showcasing Hispanic and Latin American music.

Gomez’s programs have expanded the impact and reach of the TSO through increasingly diverse repertoire and partnerships with guest artists and cultural organizations in the region. During his tenure the number of works programmed by composers of color and women has grown to an average of 25 a season. Regular collaborations include the Mexican Consulate of Tucson, Tucson International Mariachi Conference, the University of Arizona Dance School, and Ballet Tucson for its annual Nutcracker production. He has also been a strong proponent of the TSO’s Young Composers Project, conducting student compositions every year. As Music Director, Gomez has appointed 31 new musicians to the 78-person orchestra roster.

“I am honored to continue my relationship with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra as their Music Director. Over the past seasons, our work together has seen ever-expanding repertoire including completed symphonic cycles of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Schumann, and ongoing cycles of Mahler and Sibelius. We have championed new music and initiatives through commissions, the creation of ¡Celebración Latina!, our Artist-In-Residence program, Up Close Chamber Series, and strengthened ties with our beloved community. It is a privilege to be at the artistic helm of this vibrant organization for another three seasons, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me as we approach the landmark centennial. I can’t wait to continue the music-making, creativity, and inclusiveness that have made the TSO shine in Southern Arizona for almost 100 years. Thank you, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, for your trust and support. Thank you all!”

“From the first time I heard José Luis Gomez conduct the Tucson Symphony, I realized how special this relationship is between our maestro, the TSO musicians and audiences”, said President & CEO, Paul Meecham. “José Luis’s dedication to the orchestra and to the community is unwavering. We are thrilled that he will be at the artistic helm to help the TSO celebrate its centennial during the 2028-29 season.”

About José Luis Gomez

The Venezuelan-born, Spanish conductor José Luis Gomezwas catapulted to international attention when he won First Prize at the International Sir Georg Solti Conductor’s Competition in Frankfurt in September 2010. Gomez’s electrifying presence, talent, creativity and energy quickly earned him admiration among the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra’s musicians and their music director Paavo Järvi, immediately launching his conducting career. From 2012 to 2015, he was the Principal Conductor of the Orchestra 1813 of the Teatro Sociale di Como in Italy, where he received the “Premio Città di Como” for his services to nurture and expand the quality and impact of the theatre in the community.

Recent and upcoming debuts and returns include appearances with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), conducting a new work for Yo-Yo Ma by Paquito D’Rivera, Indianapolis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Nashville Symphony,

Symphony San Jose, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Puerto Rico Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Vancover Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and Orquesta Sinfónica del Perú. Among past and future engagements in Europe are the RTVE National Symphony in Madrid, Frankfurt Radio Symphony (HR), Weimar Staatskapelle, Royal Scottish National, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, George Enescu Philharmonic, Hamburg Symphony, Estonian National Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfónica de Murcia, Orchestra Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Sinfonia Varsovia, SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife. qually at home in operatic repertoire, Gomez has led performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni and Puccini’s La bohème at the Frankfurt Opera, Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Stuttgart Opera, Verdi’s La Forza del Destino in Tokyo at the New National Theatre, Don Carlo and Norma at The State Opera in Tbilisi, Georgia, La Traviata in concert with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cavalleria Rusticana with the Teatro Sociale di Como and a special Zarzuela Gala at Opera de Tenerife, where he returns for Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet in 2025-26. In 2023-24 he conducted La bohème at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Teatro di Coccia in Novara, where he returned for La Traviata in summer 2025. This past summer he also returned to Wolf Trap for a production of Bizet’s Carmen.

About the TSO

Founded in 1928 by Harry D. Juliani and Camil Van Hulse, the TSO is the oldest continuing professional performing arts organization in Arizona, and the oldest orchestra in the Southwest. The mission of the organization is to build and enrich the community through the experience of live music of the highest quality. It serves more than 120,000 lives each year, including 35,000 students, through concerts, educational programming and outreach.