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From Mexico to Plano, PSO music director brings love of music
Ronnie Baker / Staff Photo - Jane Wyen, PSO’s director of community engagement, describes Music Director Hector Guzman (pictured) as ‘a symphony in action.’
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@acnpapers.com
Plano Symphony music director Hector Guzman grew up in a small town in Mexico where his father worked as a miner and freelance musician. During the 1950s and 1960s, the style of big bands and orchestras was sweeping America and bringing a new type of inspiration to musicians.
“We had a lot of influence from America because at that point the owners of the mine were American,” Guzman said. “We had a lot of orchestras and big bands visit because they held a lot of parties and the town became full of freelance musicians.”
One such musician was his father, a drummer, guitar player and vocalist.
Guzman credits his dad with helping him discover his talent.
“My father is the greatest inspiration I have,” Guzman said.
Guzman is the oldest of four very musical siblings and grew up in what he described as “a big mess” of musicians. All of his siblings are professional musicians and all are married to professional musicians. When they get together, Guzman said, “We still jam.”
From the time Guzman was 6, he was enrolled in music schools and conservatories. He began playing the piano, learned the organ and at 17 conducted his first concert. For a 17-year-old, it would be hard to imagine conducting an orchestra without feeling a little nervous, but Guzman said, “I don’t get too nervous.”
“I might get nervous beforehand, but once I’m on stage it’s like a fish in water,” he said. “I feel very good.”
That same year, Guzman served as an escort to a debutante ball.
“I met my wife, Daisy — like the flower — in Mexico City,” Guzman said. “She was with her family, who is from the Dominican Republic. I liked her sister more than I liked her at first, but she didn’t pay any attention to me.”
Guzman and Daisy began corresponding with each other for several years. During that time, Daisy got married and the two lost touch. But fate wouldn’t let them be apart long and after several years, Guzman learned that Daisy was single again.
“I never got married, and years went by before I realized that she was single again and she had two little kids,” Guzman said. “We started corresponding again, and six months later we were married. We have been married for almost 18 years now.”
Hector and Daisy have two children. Francisco Javier is 24 and recently graduated from UT Austin, where he studied economics and finance. His daughter, Sophia, 21, is a senior at UT Austin, where she is studying art and art history.
“Fortunately I didn’t start heavily traveling until my kids were out of high school,” Guzman said. “I never really felt that I was not part of their lives. When they were on their way to college I started traveling. It has been hard, but the three orchestras I have are in Texas, so I don’t have to travel as much.”
Guzman said when the children were young, he and Daisy had to force them to go to the concerts; but now, he said, “they appreciate it.”
“They have really developed a taste for it,” Guzman said. “Young kids listen to everything, but they have an appreciation for classical music.”
After performing in Mexico City, Guzman followed the advice of his father and moved to the United States.
“My father always thought that moving to the United States would be the best move for me,” Guzman said. “I applied at several schools and was accepted at UNT, where I did my undergraduate work, and SMU, where I did my graduate work.”
In 1983, the newly formed Plano Symphony Orchestra had auditions for a conductor. Guzman saw the opportunity and decided to apply. But life threw him a curveball, and he almost missed deadline due to his father’s death.
“I was the last one to apply because I had to bury my father,” Guzman said. “I came back and barely made it. But the rest is history.”
Guzman has been with the Plano Symphony Orchestra since the early 1980s but soon decided he could take on another challenge.
“I was already music director of the newly formed Plano Chamber Orchestra, and that went very well for a few years and an opportunity came to do the same thing with the Irving Symphony Orchestra in 1991,” Guzman said. “So I became music director for that orchestra, and a few years later the San Angelo Symphony called and I auditioned and got the job.”
Guzman was juggling the schedule of three orchestras in the area when he went to the “Seven Conductors-One Baton” International Conducting competition in Mexico.
“I went to the Jalisco Philharmonic competition and I won it,” Guzman said.
Because of that win, Guzman was appointed music director of the Jalisco Philharmonic in Mexico, which meant he was managing four orchestras at the time.
“I am a very organized person,” Guzman said. “Everything is set and I plan ahead well.”
Jane Wyen is the director of community engagement and partnerships with the Plano Symphony and said she feels honored to be able to work with Guzman.
“It has been a privilege to work with him,” Wyen said. “It has been an honor to get to know Hector, experience his performance and see him conduct a symphony. He is outstanding. He is great with the audience, and when we do our student concerts he is fun and personable with the children in the audience.”
Wyen said he is always well thought of.
“If you go to a rehearsal and you see how hard he works during rehearsal and see how focused he is during the concert — he is just a symphony in action when you watch him,” she said. “I have learned a lot from him and have really enjoyed being part of the team, and he leads it.”
Guzman said he has high hopes for his future and the future of the PSO.
“My goal would be to be in a major symphony orchestra some day,” Guzman said. “But my immediate goal is to take the Plano Symphony to another level.”
Guzman said it is imperative for the symphony to have a home of its own.
Currently, the PSO holds events at the Eisemann Center in Richardson.
“A great orchestra without a great hall can never fully develop,” he said. “Nothing against the Eisemann; they have been very great to us and have allowed us to perform.”
The Arts of Collin County is a tri-city owned proposed arts complex in Allen with owner cities of Allen, Plano and Frisco. The complex will feature performance halls, art galleries and more.
“If we get the [Arts of Collin County] and move into the hall, it would make a huge difference. I have been with the orchestra for 28 years and I would like to leave them already on their way. If we move to a new hall, it will be a new chapter in our lives.”
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