Jana Euler Gimenez '91
Melrose, Massachusetts
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“Basically, it is my job to manage the day-to-day operations of our performances,” says Jana Euler Gimenez, who has been with the Boston Pops for 10 years, five as operations manager.
“The complexity of concert production is based on the location and type of show,” she says. “We own Symphony Hall, so when we're not traveling, we use our own equipment here. The details become more complex with a Pops Tour, when I'm responsible for getting the orchestra where they're going, our equipment where it needs to be, and advancing our performance requirements with the different venues so that they're ready for us when we arrive. Our concert venues range from regular concert halls, like Carnegie Hall, to sporting arenas and colleges to rather unorthodox locations like a minor league baseball field in Ohio, a beach in Nantucket, a shopping mall near Boston, and an outdoor park in Florida.
“The most complicated type of show we play is one in which electronic media is involved, such as our annual Fourth of July TV show on CBS, our pre-game show at the Super Bowl in 2001, or our concerts for the Democratic National Convention last summer. And, of course, the complexity level goes up when we travel internationally. When we tour Japan, the staff processes visas for the orchestra and sends the orchestra gear through customs,” Gimenez explains.
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“The heart of my job is translating the pieces of music on our program sheet into the numerous technical requirements that carry out the conductor's vision and make the show run smoothly. That's where my musical background comes in. I work through the program with our technical crew and artistic staff to determine stage setup, audio and lighting equipment, and general flow of the concert,” she adds.
Gimenez says what she enjoys most about her duties is taking a show from a piece of paper to a live performance that brings the audience to its feet.
“I also enjoy all the cool people I get to work with on the Pops staff,” she notes. “There's nothing better than being part of a team that works well together. In addition, artists like Yo-Yo Ma walk around Symphony Hall on a daily basis, and I've had the honor of working with John Williams, Bono, and Broadway stars like Audra McDonald.”
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After graduating from Birmingham-Southern, Gimenez attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, where she received a master's degree in music composition. And she credits her BSC education to her success there.
“'Southern prepared me well for NEC,” she says. “We all have a lot of pride in Birmingham-Southern's program, but I don't think there is enough national recognition of the quality of the Music Department … not yet, anyway. I was absolutely ready for graduate school. In fact, my BSC recital was more taxing than my master's recital. We have a treasure there in that department.” Gimenez says that the people who influenced her most at Birmingham-Southern included Hugh Thomas, who taught her “not only musical lessons, but life lessons,” Dr. Stewart Jackson (dean of chapel), with whom she worked as chapel intern, and Dr. Jim Cook, who “put up with my hilarious attempts at the organ.” She also says she appreciated Voice Professor Dr. David Smith and Religion Professor Dr. Earl Gossett, who taught his students to ask questions in “Introduction to Christianity.” A member of the BSC Concert Choir the entire time she was at the college, Gimenez says that during one Interim she was the tour manager for the choir. “Little did I know that I would someday be doing what I do now,” she says. “So the Interim experience works.” LH |
