MM, University of Southern Mississippi
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 Oklahoma and Mississippi. 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 the viola that truly captured his heart and on which he earned a master’s degree in performance 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 country.
As Director of Education of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, his goal is to work closely with the Jackson public schools, attract new audiences, 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 important festivals and institutions, including 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 Filarmónicain Lima, Peru. He participated in the Mercosur Festival Juvenil de Orquestain 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 Talentosin 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 Astraxan, and the president of the Russian-Hispanic Community Association.
