Alexander Jiménez

Alexander Jiménez is Professor of Conducting, Director of Orchestral Activities, and String Area Coordinator at The Florida State University College of Music. He has recorded on various labels such as Naxos, Navona, Neos, Canadian Broadcasting Ovation, and Mark. Jiménez has a strong dedication to contemporary composers and has collaborated with renowned composers like Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Ladisalv Kubík, Anthony Iannaccone, Krzysztof Penderecki, Martin Bresnick, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Harold Schiffman, Louis Andriessen, and Georg Friedrich Haas. As a guest conductor, he has led performances in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, including appearances with prestigious orchestras like the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, and the Israel Netanya Chamber Orchestra. He is equally comfortable conducting professional and educational orchestras, including regional and state honor orchestras in various states, as well as the NAfME All-Eastern Honor Orchestra in 2009. Jiménez has also worked with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

Under Jimenez’s leadership, the orchestral studies program at FSU has grown and gained recognition as one of the top programs in the country. The University Symphony Orchestra has been featured at conferences such as the College Orchestra Directors National Conference and the American String Teachers Association National Conference. The University Philharmonia has performed at the Southeast Conference of the Music Educators National Conference and the College Orchestra Directors Association National Conference in 2023. The national PBS broadcast of Zwilich’s Peanuts Gallery® featuring the University Symphony Orchestra was recognized as an outstanding performance in 2007. In 2023, the University Symphony Orchestra embarked on a tour, delivering acclaimed performances at the Steinmetz Concert Hall of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, as well as in Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Jimenez’s former students can be found worldwide, conducting in academic institutions, youth orchestras, and professional orchestras, including notable organizations such as the National Tour of Les Miserables, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Opera, the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, The Yerevan State Opera, Appalachian State University, Indiana University, the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Ithaca College, Whitman College, and Carthage College.

In addition to his conducting work, Jiménez is also a busy adjudicator. He serves as an international ambassador for the European Festival of Music for Young People in Belgium and frequently adjudicates and provides clinics for Festival Disney. At FSU, he has received University Teaching Awards in 2006 and 2018, The Transformation Through Teaching Award, and the Guardian of the Flame Award, recognizing his outstanding mentorship. At the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan, Jiménez holds positions as a principal conductor of the Festival Orchestra, Blue Lake Camerata, and serves as artistic director. Jiménez also serves as conductor of the Tallahassee Ballet, has appeared on numerous occasions with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and was the music director of the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras from 2000 to 2017.