Wielding a far-reaching baton.

• Author: Holston, Mark
• Position: Mexican orchestra conductor Enrique Diemecke

"Excuse me for losing my train of thought. There's a report on television about an earthquake or some kind of disaster in Mexico. Just a minute, please." For the brief moment that I put my telephone interview on hold, the person on the other end of the line was not one of the world's most celebrated young symphony orchestra conductors but just another Mexican abroad concerned about the fate of his countrymen in the wake of a major calamity. As details of the breaking story unfolded on Enrique Diemecke's television screen, we both learned that it was not an earthquake but an explosion in Guadalajara's sewer system that had caused extensive loss of life and property. The story struck close to home.

Constantly in demand throughout the world as a guest conductor, Diemecke had recently visited Mexico's second largest city to conduct its symphony orchestra. At this moment, the maestro's thoughts were focused on the welfare of his musician colleagues and enthusiastic audiences that had made his appearance in Guadalajara so memorable. Injecting new vitality into the classical repertoire and nudging audiences to heightened levels of ecstasy have become Enrique Diemecke's stock in trade. From Guadalajara and other provincial Mexican cities to such farflung destinations as Auckland, New Zealand and Moscow, the 37-year-old Mexico City native is attracting the kind of attention usually reserved for pop music stars.

After a guest stint with the El Paso, Texas Symphony, a local newspaper reviewer gushed: "He's young, riveting, accessible, with dreamy azure eyes that disarm the stranger. That coupled with a head haloed in tight blond curls, Enrique Diemecke could easily be described in his own Mexican terminology as guapo." When pressed, he admits that girls gang up hoping for autographs. But Diemecke has little time for autograph seekers or the other trappings of his growing celebrity status. The workaholic musical director's professional schedule is as convoluted and hectic as some of the new music he encourages his orchestras to perform.

Since 1990, Diemecke has been Musical Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, that country's most highly regarded classical aggregation. A complementary schedule allows him to hold the same post with the Flint Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. Increasing invitations to serve as a guest conductor with major orchestras in Europe and throughout North America have virtually wiped his calendar clean of any...