A New Baton in Ashland: Dr. Alexander Gonzalez to Lead SOU’s Bands

This September, a fresh wave of energy will sweep through Ashland as Dr. Alexander Gonzalez, the new Director of Bands at SOU prepares to welcome a new cohort of students. While the Rogue Valley has already warmly embraced Gonzalez in his role artistic director of the Rogue Valley Symphonic Band, his official introduction to the SOU community will occur when he raises his baton for the first time marking the beginning of a new chapter in the university’s musical journey.

Gonzalez, a Mexican American hailing from Florida, brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for music to his new role. Before joining SOU, Gonzalez served as the Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also earned his master’s degree in Wind Conducting. His impressive career spans multiple states and roles, including teaching conducting courses at Capital University Conservatory of Music in Ohio, directing the Professional School Orchestra, leading the Middleton Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Octet in Wisconsin, and educating students in music history at Hillsborough Community College in Florida. His journey began in public schools in Florida and Colorado, where he taught a wide range of music courses at the middle and high school levels.

“I am so excited to be in Ashland, soon surrounded by a host of student and community musicians who care about their musical education, no matter their stage of life. I love working with musicians in an ensemble because there is a constant sense of communal discovery and attention that rarely occurs anywhere else. We all – and I very much include myself in this – are challenged to turn a composer’s manuscript into informed and nuanced performances,” Gonzalez said.

At SOU, Gonzalez will not only conduct the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band but also teach music applied lessons in trumpet, and courses in music pedagogy. Upper class students enrolled in Aural Skills 4 will get to develop their sight-singing and ear-training abilities with Gonzalez as he draws from both historical and modern music examples.

“Wind Ensembles and Jazz Bands have always been ensembles that highlight modernity in composition. While we love playing (and audiences love hearing) standard literature, we also love embracing new music from new voices. This year, the SOU bands will provide opportunities for the students to engage with these types of pieces in both chamber and large group settings,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s academic credentials are as impressive as is his professional experience. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from The Ohio State University, studying under Dr. Russel Mikkelson. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Florida. In addition to his academic and professional achievements, Gonzalez is an active member of several prestigious music organizations, including the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, and the National Band Association, among others.

His current research delves into the body of works commissioned by Robert Boudreau for the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. In collaboration with Editions Peters, he has already created a critical edition of Eugène Bozza’s Children’s Overture and is working on additional editions from this unique catalog.

Maintaining a balanced life is also very important to Gonzalez. “Exercise influences who I am as a human and as an artist. I play a fair amount of racquetball. It’s amazing how the stresses of a day seem to vanish after an hour of smashing a blank wall with a rubber ball” Gonzalez said.

Joggling is another pastime that Gonzalez picked up during the pandemic. To joggle is to juggle while jogging and since the 1980’s has been a competitive sport worldwide. Gonzalez prefers to juggle racquetballs, but also mixes it up with softballs and tennis balls for a variety of size and weight.

“I started joggling to stay fit and keep myself from being bored on a run. I never liked just jogging and this seemed like a fun way to entertain myself during my cardiovascular activity. To this day, this intense focus during my workouts helps me make strong connections between life, music, pacing, consistency, humility, everything,” Gonzalez said.

Starting out with a single tennis ball, Gonzalez made-up games to work on his pace and gait. “I would throw the ball up in the air as far as I could and catch it between the first and second bounce. This slowly evolved into juggling while running. I thought I had invented it. Little did I know that it was an established, international, albeit niche, sport,” said Gonzalez.

“I don’t aim to compete but use joggling purely as a practice for my mental and physical health. There was a small contingent of my former students that started doing it after seeing me out one day. One of them began competing and now holds a world record in his event. The life lessons this activity yields are limitless. For that reason alone, I recommend this to everyone. It looks way harder to do than it is. Of equal importance, joggling is an activity that gets me into a “flow state” as quickly and deeply as conducting an ensemble does. You are forced to focus on the activity while allowing yourself to experience the joy of it,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s arrival in Ashland marks not just a new beginning for SOU’s music department but also a new chapter in his life. His wife Hailey is a new NICU nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, and the couple recently relocated to Ashland in mid-July from Wisconsin, ready to immerse themselves in the vibrant community and culture of the Rogue Valley.

“We have 2 beautiful dogs named Dexter and Harriet, who love joining us on all our life adventures! In our short time in Ashland, we already feel very connected to the community, our neighbors, many members of the SOU faculty and staff, the arts community, and the land itself,” Gonzalez said.

Ashland will have its first opportunity to see Dr. Gonzalez in action on November 14th, when he conducts his inaugural concert at the SOU Music Recital Hall. This performance will combine the SOU Jazz Band and Wind Ensembles and promises to be a showcase of his vision for the university’s music program and a celebration of the new musical direction he brings to the Ashland campus.

“My main goal for band students at SOU is to provide a learning arena that allows them to make music autonomously. This will take-on various forms in concert settings, like performing in chamber ensembles, writing their own compositions, and performing large ensemble works with no conductor,” said Gonzalez. Growing the size of the band program through increased recruitment efforts is on the top of his to-do list.

“SOU’s music department holds great esteem in the history books of American wind bands, and I would love every music student in Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest to experience that commitment to art firsthand,” said Gonzalez.

Tickets for SOU concerts are available in-person at the OCA Box Office Tuesday-Friday from Noon-6pm on the Southern Oregon University Campus. General admission is $15 per person/$10 for seniors and free livestreams of concerts are available on the OCA YouTube channel. For online tickets visit sou.universitytickets.com or call the OCA Box Office at 541.552.6348.