San Antonio Symphony conductor Ken-David Masur, left, poses with University of Houston-Victoria freshman Ricardo Herrera, winner of a guest conductor contest, and fellow UHV student and friend Quinton Tschirhart.

It�s a big leap from high school drum major to conductor of a metropolitan symphony, but that�s exactly what one University of Houston-Victoria student has done.

Freshman Ricardo Herrera won a contest sponsored by the San Antonio Symphony to conduct a song during a holiday concert. And with baton in hand, Herrera led that town�s finest musicians on Friday in the �Russian Dance� from �The Nutcracker Suite.�

�It was an awesome feeling,� he said of conducting in front of more than 2,000 people at the Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio. �The musicians were very welcoming, and it was a great experience. I wanted to do another song.�

The San Antonio native won the symphony�s contest by submitting a one-minute video of himself mock-conducting a song from operatic group Il Divo�s album �The Promise.� Winners received a box seat, tickets and a conducting lesson from the symphony�s resident conductor, Ken-David Masur.

�I submitted a video, but I wasn�t sure I would win,� he said. �All the submissions were from teenagers. I found out I was chosen on Dec. 14 when I was at work at DeTar Hospital. I was so excited when they called and told me I had won.�

While always interested in music at Harlandale High School in San Antonio, a visit to the symphony in 2007 to see tenor superstar Placido Domingo sparked his interest in conducting.  

�I had to go to school to be a high school drum major, and I have studied opera on my own,� he said. �With orchestra conducting, it�s more complicated, and there is more free movement and interaction with the orchestra than in marching band.�

Herrera said he will not rely on music to make a living, though he would like to minor in it.  

�Ironically, I�m studying biology because I would like to get into medical school,� he said, adding that he has his eyes on a university with a postgraduate medical program and an active arts program.

Once his part in the symphony concert was over, Herrera immediately posted excited updates to his Facebook page from his smart phone: �Wow!!!! THAT WAS AMAZING I JUST FINISHED OMG!!!!�

He said the experience of conducting a symphony will stay with him a long time.

�It was exciting to meet other conductors, and conducting was such a blast,� he said. �The entire symphony was looking at me, and I tried to block the audience out.�

Jack Fishman, president of the San Antonio Symphony, said the organization was pleased that Herrera could be part of its outreach efforts.

�The San Antonio Symphony is expanding our use of social media, and this was the first time we tried a Facebook conducting competition,� Fishman said. �Maestro Herrera did a fabulous job, and the audience loved him.�