Alejandro Encinas: MSO Director of Education

Alejandro Encinas is a true citizen of the world. He was born in Peru, but his passion for music has taken him to Russia, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Germany, Japan, France, and finally to the United States, where he has lived and worked in Mississippi and Oklahoma. At the beginning of his international career he studied violin in Moscow and worked as a violinist with orchestras all around the world. But it was in fact the viola that truly captured his heart and with which he earned a Master's Degree at the University of Southern Mississippi. He taught violin and viola at the Ponca City public schools in Oklahoma, supporting one of the most important string programs in the US. As Director of Education at the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, his goal is to work closely with the Jackson public schools, attract a new audience, and add his personal perspective to the education program at the MSO.

To date, Alejandro's career as a professional musician includes his participation in many important festivals and institutions such as the International Tour, I Musici Estensi from Italy (Viola), the International Tour, Arpeggioni Chamber Orchestra from Austria (viola), and the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. He was the Assistant to the Concertmaster at the Symphony Orchestra at the Cité Université in Paris, France and at the Orquesta Filarmónica in Lima, Peru. He participated in the Mercosur Festival Juvenil de Orquesta in Argentina as a violin teacher, and at the Universidad del Atlantico in Barranquilla, Colombia he was a Professor of Violin and Viola. At the Filarmonica del Caribe, he worked as Teacher and Director of Education, in charge of children's concerts and pedagogical projects, and he conducted conferences and taught Music

Appreciation (in Spanish). He also was the Artistic Director of the Asociacion Cultural Despertando Talentos in Lima, Peru, as well as the Personnel and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. In Russia, he was the Manager of the Chamber Orchestra of Astraxan, and the President of the Russian-Hispanic Community.

Thus the Encinas family is branching out like the oak trees, "encinas" in Spanish, which as they grow spread their branches to provide air to breathe and shade to protect those who surround it. Just like the encina tree, Alejandro considers his role in life to share his talent for music with as many people as possible, especially children.

Concert Calendar