Marco Parisotto, one of Canada’s foremost international conductors, is on the brink of becoming the next musical director of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO).
Parisotto takes the baton of the orchestra as a guest conductor on Friday to open the fall-winter season at the Teatro Degollado.
“I haven’t signed anything yet because there are still details to discuss but I must say frankly that I’m very interested,” Parisotto told reporters at a press conference in Guadalajara Tuesday.
Parisotto said he was flattered that the orchestra’s musicians had apparently voted “unanimously” for him to be appointed.
The Canadian said he was willing to live in Guadalajara to be “close to the orchestra,” although perhaps not immediately, and that he “adored” Mexico.
A trained violinist and pianist, Parisotto was born in Montreal of Italian lineage. He is considered one of Canada’s most distinguished conductors on the international scene and has appeared in major concert halls throughout the world. The musical director of the Ontario Philharmonic since 1996, he was appointed principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until 2003.
Parisotto accepted that he will head back to Canada following Sunday’s concert probably without having signed a contract. But if he accepts the position, he noted, his word would count as “gold.”
A salary – often a sticking point for would-be JPO directors – has yet to be negotiated, he added.
The JPO performs Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” and Anton Bruckner’s “Romantic Symphony No 4” at the Teatro Degollado on Friday, October 18, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 20, 12:30 p.m. Tickets: 110-200 pesos.