Alexander Jiménez

Alexander Jiménez is Professor of Conducting, Director of Orchestral Activities, and String Area Coordinator at the Florida State University College of Music. His work spans performance, recording, mentorship, and artistic leadership, with recordings on labels including Naxos, Navona, Neos, Canadian Broadcasting Ovation, and Mark. Known for his commitment to contemporary music, he has collaborated with an array of distinguished composers, among them Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Ladislav Kubík, Anthony Iannaccone, Krzysztof Penderecki, Martin Bresnick, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Harold Schiffman, Louis Andriessen, and Georg Friedrich Haas.

Jiménez has appeared as a guest conductor throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, leading ensembles such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, and the Israel Netanya Chamber Orchestra. He is at home with both professional and educational ensembles, having conducted regional and state honor orchestras across the country, as well as the NAfME All‑Eastern Honor Orchestra in 2009. His educational work includes engagements with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

At Florida State University, Jiménez has overseen significant growth in the orchestral studies program, helping shape it into one of the nationally recognized programs of its kind. Under his direction, the University Symphony Orchestra has appeared at major conferences including the College Orchestra Directors National Conference and the American String Teachers Association National Conference. The University Philharmonia has also gained national visibility, performing at the Southeast Conference of the Music Educators National Conference and, most recently, the College Orchestra Directors Association National Conference in 2023. The University Symphony Orchestra’s national PBS broadcast of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Peanuts Gallery® was named the Outstanding Performance of 2007 by the National Educational Television Association (NETA). In 2023, the Orchestra undertook a successful tour, performing at the Steinmetz Concert Hall of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, as well as in national theaters of Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.