Enrique Diemecke
Music Director and Conductor

Enrique Diemecke brings an electrifying balance of passion, intellect and technique to his performances. Warmth, pulse and spontaneity are all hallmarks of his conducting which has earned him an international reputation for riveting and dynamic performances. A noted interpreter of the works of Mahler, Maestro Diemecke has been awarded a Mahler Society medal for his performances of the composer’s complete symphonies.

During the 2008-09 season, Diemecke will be entering his 20th season as music director of the Flint Symphony and his sixth season as music director of the Long Beach (CA) Symphony. He is Music Director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic at the Teatro Colon. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Montpellier-Languedoc-Roussilon Philharmonic Orchestra in France. Diemecke was music director of the National Symphony of Mexico for 18 years.

Diemecke has also guest conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Opera Pacific, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Charlotte Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Hartford Symphony, the National Orchestra of Colombia, BBC Symphony, National Symphony in Washington, D.C. and many other symphonies across the U.S. and around the world

Maestro Diemecke and the National Symphony of Mexico were nominated for “Best Classical Album” at the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2002 for their recording of Carlos Chávez’s Violin and Piano Concertos with violinist and brother Pablo Diemecke and pianist Jorge Federico Osorio.

Diemecke has collaborated with some of the finest soloists of our time, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Ravi Shankar, Ivo Pogorelich, Midori, Shlomo Mintz, Placido Domingo and Frederica von Stade. He is also frequently invited to festivals such as the Lincoln Center Summer Festival, the Hollywood Bowl Festival, Finger Lakes (New York), Wolf Trap, Autumno Musicale a Como (Italy) and Festival International Radio France. An experienced conductor of opera, Maestro Diemecke has served as Music Director of the Bellas Artes Opera of Mexico.

Maestro Diemecke is an accomplished composer and orchestral arranger, and has conducted his own composition, Die-Sir-E. This work was originally commissioned by the Radio France Festival for the World Cup France 1998. He was commissioned to write a tone poem for the Flint Symphony Orchestra, and his work Chacona a Chávez has received many performances both in Europe and in the United States. During the 2001-2002 season, Maestro Diemecke gave the world premiere of his work Camino y vision, which is dedicated to President Vicente Fox of Mexico, with the Tulsa Philharmonic. Maestro Diemecke’s recording with the Flint Symphony Orchestra of the 1896 version of Mahler’s First Symphony (which includes the subsequently deleted Blumine movement) received glowing reviews.

Born in Mexico, Enrique Diemecke comes from a German family of classical musicians. He began to play the violin at the age of six and studied with the renowned violinist Henryk Szeryng. He has also played French horn, piano and percussion since the age of nine. Diemecke went on to study at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and was the last protége of Mme. Pierre Monteux at the Pierre Monteux School for Advanced Conductors where he studied with Charles Bruck.