One last bow: Mariachi maestro Castro to retire
Music director’s last UT spring concert to be Sunday.
After bolstering Austin’s mariachi scene, inspiring generations of students and blazing a musical trail across the country, maestro Ezekiel “Zeke” Castro — who directs the mariachi ensemble at the University of Texas — will take his final bow in May when he retires after a noted career.
On Sunday, the longtime music educator and musician will direct the last spring concert for his ensemble Mariachi Paredes de Tejastitlán at the Butler School of Music Recital Studio. A reception honoring his retirement will follow.
Castro, 78, did not grow up playing mariachi music. In fact, he didn’t pick it up until he was 30, but the native Austinite always had music in his soul.
At age 9, he was the youngest among a group of Austin school district students selected to participate in the inaugural 1948 class of what’s now called the String Project at UT. Castro later became a teacher and conductor for the program, which he now credits as the springboard for his career as a performer, educator and innovator.
“I’ve had a grand time,” Castro said on a recent evening before leading one of the last mariachi rehearsals for his farewell spring concert.
After spending two decades working with student orchestras and playing in symphonies in Georgia and California, Castro returned to Texas in the late 1970s. In 1980, when he founded the first mariachi programs for Austin public schools at Fulmore Middle School and Travis High School, he didn’t realize the ripple effect that would create in the city.
“Mr. Castro has inspired many students throughout his teaching career to continue performing mariachi music long after they’ve participated in his classes,” said Alex Ramirez, who formed part of Castro’s first mariachi class at Fulmore and now performs with Mariachi Amor. He’s among numerous former students who have helped boost Austin’s mariachi music scene. “I’ve been fortunate and grateful to have been one of his first students.”