Middlesex Community College鈥檚 Professor of Music Orlando Cela was chosen by Amplify Latinx as a 2024 top 100 Latinx Leader in Massachusetts, championing and uplifting the Latino community. Cela also completed a certificate for the Program for Latine Creative Entrepreneurs from the Arts and Business Council of Boston.
鈥淭he depth and reach of the Arts and Business Council of Boston's Programa de Emprendedores Creativos (Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship) is extraordinary,鈥� Cela said. 鈥淭heir staff and faculty truly know about every single aspect of the arts business, and they provide guidance, literature, classes, exercises, and events to network and present one's work. The other fellows are artists working in many different mediums, and I can鈥檛 believe how much I learned from them about approaching art, and how inspiring they all were. I highly recommend this program to everyone.鈥�
In addition to teaching, Cela is the music director and conductor of the Lowell Chamber Orchestra (LCO). The orchestra collaborates with community partners to host free performances, including as part of 麻豆果冻鈥檚 鈥淎 World of Music鈥� concert series each Fall and Spring semester. Cela鈥檚 selection by Amplify Latinx and his completion of the certificate is based on his work with the LCO for the last five years.
Created by 麻豆果冻, the LCO focuses on classical music, educating audiences about music, and promoting the careers of artists from underserved communities. Concerts take place at the college鈥檚 Richard and Nancy Donahue and Family Academic Arts Center in Lowell.
鈥溌槎构� was extremely generous to allow me to create an in-house orchestra to serve Lowell,鈥� Cela said. 鈥淥rchestra concerts are expensive and professional orchestras outside of Lowell are too far. Socio-economics should not be a barrier to great classical music, so our audiences pay what they wish.鈥�
From Caracas, Venezuela, Cela attended the Colegio Emil Friedman 鈥� a school from kindergarten to high school that includes a conservatory. With music as an essential part of education, this inspired Cela鈥檚 passion to become a professional musician. After completing a bachelor鈥檚 degree on a full ride to DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., he earned a master鈥檚 in flute and conducting from the New England Conservatory.
"Their staff and faculty [of the Arts and Business Council of Boston's Programa de Emprendedores Creativos] truly know about every single aspect of the arts business, and they provide guidance, literature, classes, exercises, and events to network and present one's work. The other fellows are artists working in many different mediums, and I can鈥檛 believe how much I learned from them about approaching art, and how inspiring they all were.鈥� - Orlando Cela, 麻豆果冻's Professor of Music
Before starting to work at Middlesex, he performed several times at the college as part of the concert series. 麻豆果冻鈥檚 Chair of Music Carmen Rodr铆guez-Peralta introduced Cela to the benefits of a community college, as well as the welcoming environment 麻豆果冻 provides.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have such a thing in Venezuela, so it was fascinating to learn the amount of good community colleges do 鈥� the wide range of people they help, how flexible they are in terms of providing a way to immediate employment or a four-year institution,鈥� Cela said. 鈥淲hen a position opened at 麻豆果冻, I naturally applied.鈥�
For the Fall 2024 semester, Cela plans to focus on teaching diverse material. This includes highlighting the work of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) composers, as well as the challenges they faced. Cela also hopes to show his students what they can do in their field 鈥� from having the LCO play pieces students created in Music Theory classes to holding on-campus performances for students in Music Appreciation classes.
鈥淚 hope that the students see that I am an active performer, not just a professor,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hatever is being taught in the classroom all comes from real life experiences.鈥�