LONG BEACH >> After 13 years as music director and conductor of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Enrique Arturo Diemecke is stepping down from his position at the end of this season.
The Long Beach Symphony Association announced his departure in an email Friday afternoon. Kelly Ruggirello, executive director of the Symphony, did not immediately return a call for comment. Genevieve Macias, a spokeswoman for the Symphony, said the organization had no comment other than the information provided in the email.
Diemecke will continue to serve as director for the Symphony’s four remaining concerts this season, which are scheduled from January through May, according to the release,
“My years on the podium of the wonderful Long Beach Symphony Orchestra have been filled with joy,” Diemecke said in a statement. “The orchestra and I have had great musical adventures and many sublime concerts that I will take with me for the rest of my days.”
Diemecke could not be reached for further comment.
Association officials say they plan “to celebrate Maestro Diemecke” at Long Beach Symphony’s Classics finale on May 31 at the Terrace Theater. No details on the celebration were released.
The Symphony’s 2014-2015 Classics Series will be led by guest conductors and soloists who will be announced in January. No information was released on Diemecke’s replacement.
Diemecke was named music director in 2001 when he promised to “bring music with passion” to Long Beach, according to the Symphony website. In 2009, the Arts Council for Long Beach gave him the “Distinguished Artist Award.”
The conductor is also the music director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic in Argentina, the Bogota Philharmonic in Colombia and the Flint Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, where he lives.
This year the season for the Symphony began with an Oct. 5 performance with the Mexican-born conductor directing his brothers 62-year-old Pablo Diemecke and 52-year-old Augusto Diemecke, on opening night of the orchestra’s Classics season.
Contact Richard Guzman at 562-754-1404.
