Carlos Izcaray, New Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Tortured in Venezuela

Venezuelan-born conductor Carlos Izcaray, who has just been announced as the new music director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, has declared that he was tortured by the Venezuelan National Guard.

According to WQXR, Izcaray was the cellist of the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra when the arrest and torture took place. He was watching a protest against Hugo Chavez when the event turned violent and he was subsequently arrested, though he was just a bystander. The troops ignored his pleas and forced him into a truck with other detainees.

Izcaray spoke to the Human Rights Watch about his treatment after his capture. Izcaray says the troops put a pistol in his mouth, administered electric shock and tossed tear gas bombs into the truck where he was being detained.

He was eventually released thanks to a guard that allowed him to make a phone call, alerting his family and friends to his situation. He was then allowed to go to the hospital but he was warned against getting a lawyer and the consequences of speaking about the malpractice that took place. Izcaray spoke to WQXR about his upheaval. "We believe that there is a collapse of our democracy taking place in our country," Izcaray told host Naomi Lewin. "As a torture victim myself, I know very well the systematic treatment of people who are detained."

Currently, the 37-year-old conductor is moving from Germany to Alabama with his family to begin his official tenure as maestro of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, starting in September, to replace conductor Justin Brown.

The search for Brown’s successor has been a long and arduous once. Brown was the music director for six seasons, stepping down in 2012, but he still holds the title of music director laureate.The symphony began the search for a new director in 2011 by bringing in a series of guest conductors, a more hands-on interview approach.

Though he officially begins as music director in September, he will perform with an ensemble at two concerts on Feb. 13-14. To purchase tickets for either show, click here.