The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) recently appointed Josué González as its vice president of Education and External Engagement. González, a distinguished music educator, classical musician and arts leader, joins the BSO’s executive leadership team to spearhead the organization’s education initiatives and community partnerships.
In this role, González provides strategic direction for the BSO’s external affairs activities, working closely with the president and CEO to develop robust relationships with civic, artistic and community leaders. He oversees all youth and adult education programs while advancing the institution’s community outreach and engagement agenda in Greater Boston as well as Western Massachusetts, the location of Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer venue.
González comes to the BSO from Project STEP, where he served as executive director since February 2022. During his tenure, he strengthened the organization’s mission to “change the face of classical music” through enhanced community engagement and student empowerment. Under his leadership, Project STEP students participated in transformative experiences, including performing “Summer,” the second concerto in Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” alongside the Boston-based, Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry. He emphasized artistic excellence while making classical music training more accessible to underrepresented communities.
As an active advocate for equity in the arts, González elevated Project STEP’s media profile, which included a feature on NBC’s nationally syndicated “Kelly Clarkson Show” in 2023, where the organization’s accomplished student orchestra performed as part of the program’s “Good Neighbors” segment, highlighting community impact.
A trained classical cellist raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, González holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is also a graduate of the Perrone Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership and holds a Certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University. His awards include being named one of the Top 100 Latinx Leaders in Massachusetts by Amplify Latinx in 2023, receiving the 2017 Emerging Leader Award from the Arts Schools Network, and winning a prize at the 2011 Sphinx Competition.
The BSO reaches millions of listeners through not only its concert performances in Boston and at Tanglewood—the orchestra’s summer home in Lenox and Stockbridge—but also via educational and community programs, radio, television, recordings and tours.
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