Get to know the two conductors behind this year’s Gateway Festival Orchestra summer concert series

The Gateway Festival Orchestra, a ‘cultural treasure’ that has become a staple to St. Louis summers, will be returning on July 9.

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The Gateway Festival Orchestra, a ‘cultural treasure’ that has become a staple to St. Louis summers, will be returning on July 9.

Established by its first conductor, William Schatzkamer, the orchestra was originally created to provide employment for musicians in the St. Louis area during the city symphony’s off season.

“The orchestra has provided free, high-quality symphonic concerts since 1964, with a focus on making family-friendly concerts accessible to seniors and young people who may not otherwise have had access to such performances,” explains Deberah Haferkamp, president of the board for the Gateway Festival Orchestra. “In addition, educational outreach concerts have been provided to underserved youth at area schools and summer camps. These performances focus on audience building by sharing the value of these experiences and the love for great music.”

This season’s summer series will be no different as the orchestra presents two indoor concerts at 560 Music Center and two outdoor concerts in Brookings Quadrangle. Two conductors, music director Darwin Aquino and guest conductor Dr. Leon Burke III, are behind this year’s season. Get to know more about them before you go.

Darwin Aquino, Gateway Festival Orchestra Conductor and Music Director

Aquino joined the Gateway Festival Orchestra as music director in 2019, but his time and history with the group goes well beyond that. He first came to St. Louis in 2017 as a guest conductor with the Winter Opera production of Bizet’s Carmen, where he met his wife.

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Aquino’s venture into conducting was a bit “random,” he says. In his home country, Aquino was the principal violinist for the national youth symphony orchestra, which meant he was also the concertmaster and essentially the second-in-command of the orchestra. When the group’s maestro received another job offer, their concerts were about to be canceled before Aquino stepped in and asked to be trained to handle the conducting duties. “I never thought of becoming a conductor," he says. "It worked out for me for some reason. The musicians liked me, and then it started to happen for me as a career.” 

It's come to be a position that he loves. “People think you are in a position of power when you are in the podium because you are up there, and you are conducting everything or telling people what to do," he says. "What people don’t realize is you have 60 or 70 souls looking directly at you, every movement that you are doing, and it’s very intimidating in many ways. At the same time, it’s the most beautiful feeling ever to be able to share energy with the orchestra, and even more special is that you’re also communicating with the audience.

“All of that flow of energy through the music that you can create in a concert, I believe, is extremely special," he adds. "That’s the reason why I became a conductor—because I really like to connect with people."

You’ll have a chance to share in that experience as Aquino is set to conduct “Resplendent” on July 16 in 560 Music Center, “Musical Treasures” on July 23 in Brookings Quadrangle, and “Grand Finale” on July 30 at 560 Music Center.

“Between the indoor and outdoor concerts, we have music for everyone,” Aquino says of the season. “The indoor concerts will have a more classical approach of a symphonic concert, with longer symphonic pieces featuring local soloists. Meanwhile, the outdoor concerts are intended to bring people out to the quadrangle to sit and enjoy more pops, with lighter and shorter selections to provide a different experience.”

Along with Aquino's activities with Gateway Festival Orchestra, he serves as conductor-in-residence at Washington University, music director of the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, assistant conductor of Opera Theater of Saint Louis, and guest conductor of the St. Louis Ballet and Chamber Music Society of St. Louis.

Leon Burke III, Guest Conductor

Burke will be taking over the podium for the opening concert of the series, “Music Under the Night Sky,” on July 9 at the quadrangle.

It will be a special experience for Burke, who remembers attending the concerts as a kid and learning from Schatzkamer. Last year, Burke also conducted two of the four shows.

“When I was in high school, the Gateway Festival Orchestra was the place to be for classical music in the summer in St. Louis,” he says. “We went to these concerts every week, so it’s an honor to get the chance to present the concerts now in the same place and in the same way with these wonderful musicians.”

“There is a special connection for Dr. Burke to the Gateway Festival Orchestra,” Haferkamp says. “As a young artist, he benefited from the mentorship of Dr. William Schatzkamer, who spent much of his long career supporting young artists.”

Burke now has degrees in music from the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Kansas and has a resume loaded with impressive achievements, including:

  • Winning the Arts for Life Award for Best Achievement in Musical Direction for Spotlight Production’s Titanic in 2003
  • Conducting the Aspen Music Festival and Shenandoah Valley Music Festival, as well as concerts in numerous other cities
  • Studying with well-regarded conductors, such as Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Slatkin, Edo de Waart, and Jorge Mester. 
  • Burke has also served as a Fulbright Fellow in Paraguay

As for the free shows this summer in St. Louis, Burke says guests who love Star Wars and Star Trek will be in for a treat. “I have a few arrangements called Star Trek and Star Wars through the years,” he says. “I am a big science fiction geek, so I love this stuff. To be able to conduct the Star Wars music, it’s just so iconic and it’s such a privilege to get to do Star Trek music, from the original series to Deep Space Nine.”

Additional Details

Want more information about all of the music that will be played at the Gateway Festival Orchestra summer concert series? Visit gatewayfestivalorchestra.org/upcoming-events-2023/.

This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of Gateway Festival Orchestra.