José Miguel Rodilla was born in Valencia, Spain. He studied conducting, musical composition and clarinet at the Valencia, Alicante, Rotterdam and Salzburg Mozarteum Conservatories, and gained an Honours Degree in Conducting with Distinction from the Royal College of Music (LRSM). Additional studies have included attending different courses taught by J. Collado, M. Gielen, J. Rotter and A. Cecatto. Currently, he is Head of the Orchestral Conducting Department at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Murcia, and chief conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia.
Rodilla made his debut as a conductor with the Orquesta del Conservatorio de Murcia in 1990, where he served as Chief Conductor until 1996, touring in Spain, Hungary and Portugal. In 1991 he received the “Best Conductor Prize” in the Murcia International Youth Orchestra Festival.
In 1993, he formed the Concertus Novo Chamber Orchestra, realizing his ambition of creating an ensemble to perform contemporary music. There followed numerous engagements with most prestigious contemporary music festivals. Some of that performances were featured in live radio broadcasts by RNE.
In September 1997 he assumed the position of Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia, with he has performed numerous concerts and undertaken several tours through Spain, Portugal, France. He has conducted a wide range of repertoire, from early music to modern works, and has performed with numerous international soloists.
As a guest conductor, he has appeared with major orchestras including the Aachen Symphony Orchestra, Szeged Symphony Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, Kuzbass Symphony Orchestra in Kemerovo, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Paraguay, Milano Classica Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta de Valencia, Hradec Kralove Philarmonie, Orquesta de Extremadura, Orquesta Nacional do Porto, Radio Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Bayonne Côte Basque, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and Orquesta Ciudad de Málaga.
Soloists who have performed under Rodilla’s baton include Ana Mª Sánchez, Ainoa Arteta, Mª José Montiel, Steven Isserlis, Pierre Amoyal, Ludmil Angelov, Yung Wook Yoo, Pepe Romero, Los Romero quartet, Jan Simon, Michael Vaiman, Guy Touvron, Carmen Linares, Carlos Moreno, etc.
His operatic and zarzuela repertorie encompassed scores as Norma, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammemoor, L’elisir d’amore, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Marina, la Tempestad, La Tabernera del Puerto, La revoltosa and Luisa Fernanda.
In 2002-03 season, he made his debut both at Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real in Madrid with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia. Futhermore, he has appeared at many outstanding concert halls in Europe, as the Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague, where he got great success last September.
Recent recordings with RTVE label includes Elgar’s violin concerto, with Spanish violinist Miguel Pérez-Espejo, and Manuel Seco de Arpe’s contemporary score Misa Plenaria Iubilate Deo.
Highlights of Mr. Rodilla’s appearances as a guest conductor during next season include performances in Germany, Russia, China, Mexico, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Paraguay and Hungary.