Eduardo Mata.
In Tuesday’s (10/3) Texas Standard, Elisabeth Jimenez writes, “Eduardo Mata was born in 1942 in Mexico City … His love of music led him to enroll in Mexico’s prestigious National Conservatory of Music when he was 11 years old…. He studied composition. But it was clear that his true passion was in front of the orchestra as director…. From 1965 to 1974, Mata directed symphonies in Mexico … In 1974, he was hired to conduct the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Three years later, he became director of the Dallas Symphony…. Mata brought new energy and vitality. He recorded more than 30 pieces with the orchestra, and he introduced the Dallas Symphony to audiences throughout the world … Perhaps his greatest achievement was giving the Dallas Orchestra a [concert hall] of its own…. But it wasn’t just a concert hall that left a mark. Wilfred Roberts, principal bassoon during Mata’s tenure, said Mata’s connection to the Mexican descent community made a difference….. ‘Latinos [started] coming to the concert. And he identified very much with the Latino society here in Dallas, and they identified with him.’ Mata left Dallas in 1993 to work in Mexico. Two years later, he was killed in a plane crash. Margarita Pruneda, an opera singer who worked with Mata, said he was a symbol for Hispanic musicians and that losing him was like becoming an orphan.”
