Ángel Gil-Ordóñez, born on September 5, 1957 in Spain, is a Spanish-born American conductor. He initially studied violin and engineering before pursuing music at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. In 1978, inspired by Sergiu Celibidache, he decided to become a conductor. Gil-Ordóñez furthered his studies with Pierre Boulez and Iannis Xenakis. He returned to Spain in 1991 to serve as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Spain and founded the chamber orchestra Academia de Madrid. In 1997, he moved to Washington, D.C., co-founding musica aperta Washington and IberArtists New York. Gil-Ordóñez has held prominent positions including Music Director of the PostClassical Ensemble and Principal Guest Conductor of New York’s Perspectives Ensemble. He led the Georgetown University Orchestra for President Barack Obama in 2015. Notable awards include receiving Spain's highest civilian decoration, La Real Orden de Isabel la Católica, in 2006 and the WAMMIE Award for Classical in 2010.
