Raul A. Munguia
Director of Orchestras, Violin and Viola Instructor of Music Pittsburg State University |
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Raúl Antonio Munguía is professor of violin and viola, and the Artistic Director and Conductor of both the Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburg State University Chamber Orchestra position that he took in July of 2012. Born in the Caribbean country of Honduras Raúl started playing the violin at age 12 at the Victoriano López Conservatory under the instruction of Jose Chaín Barbot, and Oscar Rodríguez. He held the concertmaster chair of the top orchestra and was also the first violin of the Juan Tutto Diffent String Quartet.
A versatile musician, Raúl combines his work in orchestral conducting with an active career as an orchestral musician and a chamber player. As a violinist, he has held the concertmaster chair with The San Pedro Sula Chamber Orchestra, The Honduran Symphony Orchestra, The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He has also been first section violin at Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, and the Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra in Santa Fe, NM, performing on both period and standard violin. His orchestral experience has given him the opportunity to perform with world renowned soloists such as Itzhak Perlman, Edgar Meyer, Plácido Domingo, Yo Yo Ma, Christopher Parkening, Susan Graham, Emanuel Ax, Ruggiero Ricci, James Galway, and Joshua Bell.
As a conductor, Raúl has been guest conductor of the Honduras Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Pedro Sula Chamber Orchestra, the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, The Universidad Federal de Alagoas Symphony Orchestra, and the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra. He was cover conductor for the TTU Opera Company for W. A. Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, and Puccini’s La Boheme, which he conducted at Midland, Texas. Future conducting engagements include an invitation as guest conductor this Fall for Maracaibo Youth Symphony Orchestras in Maracaibo, Venezuela, an important branch of Venezuela El Sistema Orchestras.
As a music educator Raúl was a recipient of the Don and Kay Cash Grant from the Graduate School at Texas Tech that allowed him to do research in his native country Honduras on 20th Century Honduran composers. He was also recipient of a TTU String Project Research Grant, as part of the research trip to Maceió, Brazil in May of 2012 lead by Dr. Bruce Wood. Currently an A.B.D. Doctoral Candidate at Texas Tech University, Raúl holds a Master of Music degree in both Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern State University of Louisiana studying violin with Dr. Andrej Kurti, and orchestral conducting with Dr. Douglas Bakenhus. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The University of Southern Mississippi under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Redfield working on both standard and period violin.