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Cape Symphony is thrilled to introduce Francisco Noya, guest conductor for “Better Together” on April 6 and 7. Mr. Noya is Music Director of the Boston Civic Symphony, a member of the conducting faculty at Berklee College of Music, and a resident of Nantucket, where his wife is Superintendent of Schools. He’s a person who loves his work, and it shows. Originally from Venezuela, Noya had his first conducting experience with the youth orchestra in Valencia: “I was studying piano and cello… our conductor had to be away and asked me to take the rehearsal. My colleagues must have thought I knew what I was doing, because a few months later, I got the position.” He came to the United States to further his education, earning degrees in Composition and Conducting from Boston University. Francisco embraces the challenges of his work with great joy. “Conducting is a hard job,” he says. “It’s hard intellectually, emotionally, and also physically, transforming movement into music.” Every performance is different, he says, and “every piece surprises me. The music is not just the abstract sounds in your head when you look at the score, it’s the musicians playing it… we are not conducting instruments, we are conducting people, who bring their own life stories to it. It’s a human enterprise. For me, that’s a very important thing. I never forget it.” Over the course of a successful career, Francisco’s versatility and expertise with symphonic and operatic works have established him as a prominent and sought-after conductor. He has been Resident Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the New Philharmonia Orchestra and Longwood Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as a guest conductor with an impressive list of orchestras across Europe and the Americas. What does this hardworking conductor do to recharge? “I have a great curiosity about all kinds of things,” says Francisco. “I love science especially. I studied electrical engineering before I committed to music, which I have never regretted, but I have kept an immense curiosity for science.” He’s also an athlete. Living on Nantucket, that means tennis, and swimming in the ocean often – but no, not year-round. “It gets too cold by about November,” he says. “I don’t like punishment!” Francisco is very excited to conduct the Cape Symphony Orchestra and twin sister piano duo Christina and Michelle Naughton in our Better Together program. Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra” was a particular draw. “It’s an amazing piece, very emotionally direct,” he says. “Bartók had a very special musical language, his own way of shaping music – contemporary, but accessible, so classical music audiences with more conservative tastes still find it very enjoyable.” Poulenc’s “Concerto for Two Pianos,” he says, is “a phenomenal showpiece… charming and bright. You will detect Mozart’s influence in repeated turns of phrase.” As a pianist himself, Francisco delights in having two of them on stage. “Two pianos make a wonderful noise. It’s loud! I love it, I love it. Generally, their lids are removed so the sound is unhampered. The sound of the orchestra vibrates the strings and reverberates. They are absolutely ‘Better Together.’” Classical music fans and especially piano lovers will not want to miss this outstanding performance, and this engaging, enthusiastic, joyful conductor.