Essays, field notes, and updates on music, technology, culture, and the work of building things that matter.https://fdtorres.com/en-ushttps://fdtorres.com/writing/leaving-filarmonika-building-resonance/https://fdtorres.com/writing/leaving-filarmonika-building-resonance/After twelve years at FILARMONIKA Music Publishing, I've left to build Resonance Music Press — publishing infrastructure where composers keep ownership of their work.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTUpdatepublishingfilarmonikaresonancehttps://fdtorres.com/writing/why-typography-matters-arts-organizations/https://fdtorres.com/writing/why-typography-matters-arts-organizations/Most arts nonprofits underinvest in typography. Here's why that's a strategic mistake, not just an aesthetic one.Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTField Notedesigntypographyarts-organizationshttps://fdtorres.com/writing/building-tools-you-wish-existed/https://fdtorres.com/writing/building-tools-you-wish-existed/On the strange productivity of building software for your own problems — and why musicians might be better positioned for it than they think.Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssaytechnologytoolsmusic-techdesignhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/orchestral-programming-cultural-reclamation/https://fdtorres.com/writing/orchestral-programming-cultural-reclamation/Why the works we choose to perform matter as much as how we perform them — and what it means to put Latin American composers on the same stage as the European canon.Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTEssayconductingprogramminglatin-americaorchestralhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/progress-through-preservation/https://fdtorres.com/writing/progress-through-preservation/A 2025 reflection from my time at Filarmonika: the most meaningful work isn't always invention — it's building infrastructure that helps culture endure.Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTField Notepublishingfilarmonikalatin-americacatalogfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/where-art-design-and-structure-overlap/https://fdtorres.com/writing/where-art-design-and-structure-overlap/Conducting taught me that creativity thrives in structure — a principle that shows up in web design, publishing, and the tools I build.Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTField Noteprocessdesignconductingtechnologyfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/rehearsal-as-conversation/https://fdtorres.com/writing/rehearsal-as-conversation/A quick note on what changes when you stop thinking of rehearsal as instruction and start thinking of it as dialogue.Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingrehearsalprocesshttps://fdtorres.com/writing/mso-wins-2025-american-prize/https://fdtorres.com/writing/mso-wins-2025-american-prize/The Mesquite Symphony Orchestra has been named the 2025 Winner of The American Prize in Community Orchestral Performance — a national recognition of the orchestra's artistic growth.Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTUpdatemsoawardsconductinghttps://fdtorres.com/writing/seven-years-with-east-texas-youth-orchestra/https://fdtorres.com/writing/seven-years-with-east-texas-youth-orchestra/7 years. 2,555 days. 55,000+ miles driven. 200+ rehearsals. My final concert with ETYO.Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTUpdateconductingarts-organizationsprocessfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/stepping-down-from-etyo-stepping-into-caminos-del-inka/https://fdtorres.com/writing/stepping-down-from-etyo-stepping-into-caminos-del-inka/After seven years with the East Texas Youth Orchestra, I will conclude my tenure in May 2025 and become Managing Director of Caminos del Inka.Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTUpdateconductingarts-organizationsfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/how-bad-do-you-want-it/https://fdtorres.com/writing/how-bad-do-you-want-it/I wanted to be a conductor when I started undergrad in 2002 and didn't have a real orchestral conducting job until 2018.Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingprocessfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/180-minutes-rehearsal-planning-as-a-puzzle/https://fdtorres.com/writing/180-minutes-rehearsal-planning-as-a-puzzle/How I plan weekly rehearsals when 180 minutes has to cover 70 minutes of concert repertoire.Fri, 25 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingrehearsalprocessmsofrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/how-the-sausage-gets-made/https://fdtorres.com/writing/how-the-sausage-gets-made/A snapshot of one month across MSO, the Conducting Institute, ETYO, TXIOS, and Caminos del Inka — and a call to share more of the work behind the work.Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingprocessarts-organizationsfrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/programming-by-the-numbers-holding-myself-accountable/https://fdtorres.com/writing/programming-by-the-numbers-holding-myself-accountable/A transparent audit of one MSO season — ethnicity, gender, living composers, and the budget it takes to program them.Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingprogrammingprocessmsoorchestrallatin-americafrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/stop-shaming-first-time-concertgoers/https://fdtorres.com/writing/stop-shaming-first-time-concertgoers/If we shame first-time visitors with archaic rules, they will not come back.Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMTField Noteorchestralarts-organizationsprocessmsofrom-linkedinhttps://fdtorres.com/writing/why-i-track-what-i-program/https://fdtorres.com/writing/why-i-track-what-i-program/Several years ago I began tracking repertoire by gender, nationality, and year composed — and made a commitment to diversify.Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTField Noteconductingprogrammingprocessmsofrom-linkedin