Angel Velez, Co-founder/Director
Angel Velez enjoys a career balanced between the studios of Los Angeles, guest conducting and teaching. Velez serves as conductor of the Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra and Hollywood Studio Chamber Orchestra as well as conducting in the studios of Los Angeles with the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Velez has guest conducted orchestras around the world such as the Augsburger Philharmoniker (Germany), Berlin Sinfonietta (Germany), Budapest Symphony (Hungary), Cape Cod Symphony (USA), Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rhineland-Pfalz (Germany), Boca del Rio Philharmonic (Mexico), Indianapolis Symphony (USA), Moravian Philharmonic (Czech Republic), Puerto Rico Symphony (USA), Rousse Philharmonic (Bulgaria) and many others.
Velez is also serves as artistic director and conductor for Silent Films LIVE, a live-to-film concert series benefiting Education Through Music - Los Angeles, as well as conductor for the recent Silent Films LIVE album with the Varèse Sarabande Chamber Orchestra at Capitol Studios. He has served as music director for the American Society of Cinematographers Awards, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Centennial, Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival and Miss World 2021, one of the largest televised events in the world. He has recorded for the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in Germany and Varèse Sarabande Records labels. He continues to work professionally in the entertainment industry where he has worked on projects such as Family Guy, Green Book, James Bond: Goldeneye for Wii, Jane the Virgin, Madison, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian, Tatort and numerous other, including the upcoming MGM superhero film, Samaritan, staring Sylvester Stallone.
A devoted advocate for education, Velez also runs the Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive, a conducting workshop co-founded with composer/conductor David Newman. These professional development workshops are designed specifically for media composers to provide conductor training under the tutelage of some of the industry's finest teachers. Velez has taught these workshops with renown faculty members Jorge Mester, David Newman, Conrad Pope, William Ross and who's alumni consist of some of the most recognized works for film, television and video games in the world. Velez has held teaching positions at Taylor University, Marian University and Santa Monica College as well as hosted numerous masterclasses and workshops with artists such as Time for Three, Stephen Hough, Alison Balsom, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jake Shimabukuro, Kevin Kiner, James Beckel and others. During his time in Indianapolis, he also worked extensively in community outreach with the Consulate of Mexico-Indianapolis in creating local performances celebrating Mexican history as well as developed strong relationships with local schools, serving as guest speaker or clinician. Velez also maintains a strong relationship with the University of Southern California where he has worked with the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. He also presented on the topic of Conducting to Picture at the Oxford Conducting Institute International Conducting Studies Conference 2019 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia.
During COVID-19, Velez created engaging digital programs with the Hollywood Studio Chamber Orchestra for Los Angeles County’s Silent Films Live: Halloween UNcanceled, Star Wars: Across Generations Part II: The French Horn in the Star Wars Universe featuring principal hornists of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and Canadian Brass, as well as Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive’s 2020 New Music Project. The 2020 New Music Project was an initiative created to give voice to the unparalleled events of 2020 by commissioning over sixty new socially-distanced works by film/television composers, made available for free download and performance for the 2020-2021 season, and performed by principal musicians of the Boston Symphony, Canadian Brass, Chicago Symphony, Christchurch Symphony (New Zealand), Hollywood Studio Symphony, London Symphony (UK), Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Time for Three and many others.
Velez serves as an Associates Board Member for Education Through Music-Los Angeles, Advisory Board Member for the Academy of Scoring Arts and music consultant for the Ventura County Arts Council. He is the recipient of the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Conducting-Youth Orchestra Division. He studied extensively with conducting pedagogues Donald Thulean and Kenneth Kiesler, holds degrees from Butler University, Berklee College of Music and University of Southern California. He lives in Southern California and enjoys learning about wine and surfs every chance he gets.