Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Juanjo Mena began his conducting career in his native Spain as Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in 1999. His uncommon talent was soon recognized internationally with appointments as Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic and Chief Guest Conductor of the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 2011 he was named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, which he led for seven seasons, taking the orchestra on tours of Europe and Asia and conducting annual televised concerts at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. His BBC tenure featured, notably, “thrilling” (The Guardian) performances of Bruckner Symphonies, a cycle of Schubert Symphonies and set new standards for the interpretation of Spanish and South American repertoire. He currently holds the position of Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, the longest running choral festival in North America, served by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. 

A sought-after guest conductor, Juanjo Mena has led Europe's top ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic among others. He also appears regularly with all the major orchestras in his native Spain. Following his North American debut with the Baltimore Symphony in 2004, he has conducted most of the continent's leading orchestras. They include the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. In Asia, he is a regular guest conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. 

Juanjo Mena kicks off the 22/23 season with a Carnegie Hall gala concert, leading the Teatro Real Orchestra (the Royal Opera of Madrid) in its historic Carnegie Hall debut. The concert follows Mena’s recent triumphant performances at Madrid’s Teatro Real, with a new production of Arthur Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake paired with Debussy's La damoiselle élue staged in June 2022. Other guest performances this season include his debut with the Dallas Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic and returns to the Minnesota Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Lucerne Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Danish National Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic and the Spanish National Orchestra. May 2023 marks Juanjo Mena’s final performances as Principal Conductor of the May Festival, concluding his pivotal six-year tenure at the organization during which he has expanded commissioning of new works and put the community at the heart of the Festival. The Cincinnati May Festival’s 150th Anniversary program will culminate with Mena leading Mahler’s 8th Symphony. 

Juanjo Mena’s operatic work includes Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Richard Strauss’ Salome, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bartók's Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung as well as productions of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in Genoa, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in Lausanne, and Beethoven’s Fidelio and Britten’s Billy Budd in Bilbao. 

His latest release of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos has been described by The Classical Review as “intensely musical,” “impressive” and with a “spectacular sound”. Mena's rich discography with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos also includes an acclaimed Gabriel Pierné release selected as a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Weber Symphonies, Ginastera’s orchestral works to mark the composer’s centenary, and new reference recordings of lesser performed Spanish repertoire including Arriaga’s orchestral pieces, works by Albéniz, Montsalvatge and Turina, as well as three discs of works by Manuel de Falla featuring his opera La Vida Breve. In 2012 Juanjo Mena recorded Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony with the Bergen Philharmonic for the Hyperion label, a disc said to “utterly redefine the terms under which past/current/future Turangalîlas need to be judged” (Gramophone). 

Juanjo Mena studied conducting with Sergiu Celibidache following his musical education at the Madrid Royal Conservatory where he was mentored by Carmelo Bernaola and Enrique García Asensio. In 2016 he was awarded the Spanish National Music Award. He lives with his family in his native Basque Country. 

Praised as “the soul of the Spanish guitar”, he has become a worldwide sensation known as this generation’s great guitarist. Pablo Sáinz-Villegas has been acclaimed by the international press as the successor of Andrés Segovia and an ambassador of Spanish culture in the world. His "virtuosic playing characterized by irresistible exuberance" (The New York Times) make him one of the most acclaimed soloists by prestigious conductors, orchestras and festivals.

He is known for his passionate, emotive and open-hearted playing, whether he is performing at intimate recital halls, or playing to an audience of over 85,000 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid with beloved tenor Plácido Domingo who has hailed him as "the master of the guitar”. Together they have performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as well as on a floating stage on the Amazon River. They most recently released “Volver” a duo album with Sony Classical.

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas has appeared on some of the world’s most prominent stages including the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Musikverein in Vienna and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. He has played in more than 40 countries and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of Spain. In 2019 Pablo will make his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing the beloved Concierto the Aranjuez and as a solo recitalist he will perform for the first time at the Harris Theater in Chicago and at Boston’s Celebrity Series. He will also continue touring with his trio band along with a special presentation at the iconic Blue Note Jazz Club in New York.

Billboard Magazine named him “the global ambassador of Spanish guitar” and as passionate promoter of the development of new repertoire, he has made numerous world premieres including the first composition for guitar by five-time Academy Award-winner John Williams.

Sáinz-Villegas thrives over a continuous search of innovative ways to inspire communities since he considers that “music is an ideal tool to humanize this world”. As a lifelong dreamer, educator and philanthropist he has reached more than 35,000 children and youth through his non-profit ‘The Music Without Borders Legacy’ and through his various Artist-In-Residence collaborations with orchestras and festivals.