AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Classical music is rooted in Western Europe. But these days, some of the world's most innovative orchestra conductors come from Latin America. The best known is Venezuela's Gustavo Dudamel. But as John Otis reports, one of the most sought after conductors is from Colombia.
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JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: At the Metropolitan Theatre in the city of Medellin, the Colombian Youth Philharmonic is rehearsing under the baton of Andres Orozco-Estrada. The 47-year-old conductor is prepping them for the following night's concert when, suddenly, he stops the music.
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ANDRES OROZCO-ESTRADA: (Non-English language spoken).
OTIS: He wants more drama from the violins and more power from the cellos. To show what he means, he starts stomping his feet.
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OROZCO-ESTRADA: (Non-English language spoken).
OTIS: It's only practice, but Orozco-Estrada is working up a sweat.
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OTIS: He's garnered rave reviews across the globe for his exuberance and for his ability to connect with musicians and concertgoers at a time when classical music is struggling to maintain its audience.
REBECCA ZABINSKI: He understands that classical music can feel really intimidating to people.
OTIS: That's Rebecca Zabinski, who directs artistic planning for the Houston Symphony, where Orozco-Estrada spent nine years as music director.
ZABINSKI: And so he is trying to figure out a way to show people the beauty of that by removing what could be seen as barriers.
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OROZCO-ESTRADA: (Non-English language spoken).
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OTIS: For example, rather than keeping his back to the audience, Orozco-Estrada often addresses the crowd. He'll explain what Mozart or Mendelssohn were trying to do or how the first and second violins play off each other. Often, he'll crack wise about his own foibles as a conductor, as he did at this concert in Bogota.
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OROZCO-ESTRADA: (Non-English language spoken).
(LAUGHTER)
OTIS: Sometimes he'll invite audience members onstage to get a better feel for what it's like to be in an orchestra.
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OTIS: For this performance in Germany of a composition that alludes to the Amazon jungle, Orozco-Estrada handed out hundreds of tiny flutes to concertgoers. Later in the piece, he turned around and began conducting the crowd, which used the flutes to replicate bird song.
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JUAN ANDRES ROJAS: Suddenly, the whole venue was like an Amazonian forest.
OTIS: That's Juan Andres Rojas, director of Colombia's Youth Philharmonic, who was at the concert.
ROJAS: It was beautiful but also very powerful for the audience, being part of the piece.
OTIS: Besides engaging the crowd, Orozco-Estrada also inspires his musicians, says Laura Parra, who plays viola in Colombia's Youth Philharmonic.
LAURA PARRA: He has so much energy. It's overwhelming sometimes because as a musician, you get tired throughout the rehearsal, but you see that he's so inspired and keeps that energy throughout the whole rehearsal, that it keeps you motivated to keep playing and doing your best.
OROZCO-ESTRADA: (Non-English language spoken).
OTIS: During a break at the rehearsal in Medellin, Orozco-Estrada tells me that while growing up here, he attended a music school that encouraged students to enjoy themselves.
OROZCO-ESTRADA: So my approach to the music is not super intellectual or super, like, disciplined in a way that it needs to be, like, super in the box and strict and almost, like, kind of military, (vocalizing), not - quite the opposite. I just got into music very natural. Just - it was playful, always playful. And that's the way I understand music works.
OTIS: He started out on violin then switched to conducting at age 14. He liked a baton until he spotted the antenna atop the family TV.
OROZCO-ESTRADA: And I thought, this might be a very good idea because it's very practical. I can make it longer, bigger. So then I disconnected the antenna from the TV. My mom wasn't very happy with it because, after that, we couldn't see - watch the TV anymore. It was (imitating TV static). But anyway, I took it, and it was the best.
OTIS: Makeshift baton in hand, he would conduct every chance he got, even when there were no musicians around.
OROZCO-ESTRADA: So when I wanted to conduct, whatever it was, like, in the middle of nothing, I just took my baton and start conducting, like a crazy people.
OTIS: Like, with the music in your head, or just...
ROJAS: In my head or just people walking and talking - I conduct you just for fun. It's like a normal kid being Superman and taking a towel as a cape.
OTIS: And you - so you were Superconductor?
OROZCO-ESTRADA: Exactly. I thought, oh, I can fly with this baton.
OTIS: Indeed, the profession has taken him to great heights.
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OTIS: In 1997, he was accepted into the top conducting school in Vienna, classical music's Mecca. Since then, he's conducted some of the world's greatest orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony and Italy's RAI National Symphony. Zabinski of the Houston Symphony describes Orozco-Estrada as a singular talent.
ZABINSKI: You have more of a chance of becoming an NFL player than you do becoming a professional conductor at the level of Andres. He's like an Olympian.
OTIS: Some connoisseurs believe classical music should speak for itself, without any bells and whistles. And in more traditional venues, Orozco-Estrada will tone it down. But he is naturally gregarious.
OROZCO-ESTRADA: The audience were always so happy when I just say, welcome, I'm so happy. We're playing this. Or I was thinking I - or I choose this piece because I love this and this, or listen carefully about this second movement. It's going to be so beautiful. I feel like it's da, da, da. And the people were like, whoa, thank you.
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OTIS: He's hoping for a similar reception at tonight's performance in Medellin, in which the Youth Philharmonic will play pieces by Bach and Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. As the string section warms up, the Metropolitan Theater starts filling up.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
OTIS: Leaving his dressing room, Orozco-Estrada stops to take selfies with his young musicians who plainly adore him. Then they hit the stage.
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OTIS: It turns out that Orozco-Estrada is in such high demand in the U.S. and Europe that he rarely makes it back to Colombia. So for the audience, tonight's concert is a special treat, a rare chance to see their hometown hero.
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OTIS: For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Medellin, Colombia.
(SOUNDBITE OF HILARY HAHN AND FRANKFURT RADIO SYMPHONY PERFORMANCE OF SARASATE'S "CARMEN FANTASY, OP. 25: III. ALLEGRO MODERATO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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