The 2013 Season Conductors
Festival Opening Concert:
Octavio Más-Arocas- SSMF Conductor In-Residence
Sewanee Symphony:
Week 1: Cristian Macelaru
Week 2: Carl St.Clair
Week 3: Octavio Más-Arocas- SSMF Conductor In-Residence
Week 4: Christopher Warren-Green
Cumberland Orchestra:
Week 1-2, & 4: Octavio Más-Arocas- SSMF Conductor In-Residence
Octavio Más-Arocas- SSMF Conductor In-Residence
Sewanee Summer Music Festival Conductor In-Residence!
Octavio Más-Arocas is a versatile and dynamic conductor whose achievements demonstrate his talent and musicianship.
Chosen by Kurt Masur, Mr. Más-Arocas was awarded the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship. Consequently, in September 2011 he traveled to Europe and worked as Maestro Masur’s assistant with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Helsinki Radio Orchestra. He also made his German conducting debut conducting the Leipziger Symphonieorchester sharing the podium in a concert with Maestro Masur. The offer came after Mr. Más-Arocas’ New York debut concert sharing the podium with Maestro Masur and the Manhattan School of Music Symphony.
An alumnus of the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, Mr. Más-Arocas won the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize in 2008 awarded by David Zinman. He is also the recipient of the 2007 Thelma A. Robinson Award from the Conductors Guild, a Prize Winner of the 2005 Third European Conductors Competition, and a winner of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain Conductors Competition. Mr. Más-Arocas has recently been invited to conduct the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra during the League of American Orchestras National Conference in Dallas.
In the last few years Mr. Más-Arocas has conducted orchestra across North and South America and Europe including the Leipziger Symphonieorchester in Germany, the Spokane, Toledo, Phoenix, Memphis, Kansas City, and San Antonio Symphonies, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Manhatan School of Music Symphony, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Interlochen Philharmonic, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Philharmonic, the Rosario Symphony in Argentina, Kharkov Symphony in Ukraine, the National Youth Orchestras of Portugal and Spain, the Pescara Symphony in Italy, the Amsterdam Brass in the Netherlands, and the Ciudad Alcala de Henares Symphony.
Mr. Más Arocas has been assistant conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, which he conducted in subscription, family, and pops concerts. With the NRO he worked closely with guest artists and conductors such as Leonard Slatkin. Other festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, and the Interlochen Music Festival. This summer he will conduct at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, at the Brazilian Winter Festival in Campinas, Brazil, and three concerts at the Interlochen Music Festival.
Mr. Más-Arocas has recently been named Director of Orchestras and Conductor of Opera at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Lawrence University. Beginning in September 2012 he will conduct and direct the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra, and opera productions.
In 2008 Mr. Más Arocas was named Music Director and Conductor of the renowned Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra. Since his appointment with the IAA Orchestra his performances have been featured on National Public Radio and have been streamed online. Mr. Más Arocas and the IAA have collaborated with such outstanding and diverse musicians as conductor Leonard Slatkin, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky, cellist Joshua Roman, Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal tubist Carol Jantsch, and the Latin band Tiempo Libre, among others. Last March Mr. Más-Arocas lead the IAA Orchestra on a national tour that included concerts in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Grand Rapids. In 2011, Mr. Más-Arocas co-hosted a new music festival at Interlochen that featured guest composer Steven Stucky. His exciting programming with the IAA Orchestra has included several premieres and commissions as well as fully staged ballets and major works of the choral-orchestral repertory.
Mr. Más Arocas served as assistant conductor at the Madrid Royal Opera House and conducted fully staged opera productions with the Bowling Green State University Opera. He leaded two national tours with the National Youth Orchestra “Templarios” of Portugal, served as member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain conducting staff, and as assistant conductor of the Bowling Green Philharmonia, and was a regular guest conductor of the BG New Music Ensemble.
For two years, Mr. Más-Arocas studied conducting at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen with David Zinman who awarded him the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize. After a very successful workshop with Kurt Masur, the Maestro invited Mr. Más-Arocas to be his apprentice in Europe. Mr. Más-Arocas has also worked with other leading conductors and teachers such as Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, James Depreist, Jesús Lopez-Cobos, Gustav Meier, and Larry Rachleff. Mr. Más-Arocas holds degrees from Bard College in New York where he studied with Harold Farberman, the Accademia Musicale Pescarese in Italy with Gilberto Serembe, and has pursued doctoral studies at Bowling Green State University with Emily Freeman Brown.
An enthusiastic advocate of new music, Mr. Más Arocas has commissioned and premiered numerous works and was himself the recipient of the Bowling Green Composition Prize in 2007. He has closely worked with such composers as Steven Stucky, Jennifer Higdon, Joan Tower, Samuel Adler, Chen Yi, Michael Daugherty, and John Harbison among others.
www.octaviomasarocas.com
Cristian Macelaru has established an exciting and highly regarded presence through his thoughtful interpretations, poise and energetic conviction on the podium. In September 2011, he began his tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra where he works with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and visiting conductors. In November 2012, the Philadelphia Orchestra elevated his title to Associate Conductor in recognition of his artistic contribution to the orchestra. As associate conductor, he will now conduct his own subscription week in the 2013-14 season and will continue to assist Nézet-Séguin and conduct special non-subscription performances.
Recently, Mr. Macelaru received the 2012 Sir George Solti Emerging Conductor Award, a prestigious honor only awarded once before in the foundation’s history. In February 2012, Mr. Macelaru made his Chicago Symphony subscription debut as a replacement for Pierre Boulez with overwhelming success and rave reviews. Other 2011-12 season highlights included engagements with the Baltimore and Houston symphony orchestras and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, in addition to conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra and assisting Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit. Mr. Macelaru’s 2012-13 season brings highly anticipated debuts with Atlanta Symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Windsor Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Alabama Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic, as well as a return to the Baltimore Symphony.
Mr. Macelaru made his debut conducting the Houston Grand Opera in performances of Madama Butterfly in the 2010-11 season, after collaborating with Patrick Summers on the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick as assistant conductor for the Dallas Opera. Previous seasons have also seen him with the Pittsburgh and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, Banatul Philharmonic, DaCamera of Houston, Syzygy ensemble, Oberlin Orchestra and at the Sarasota Music Festival. With a passion for diverse repertoire, Mr. Macelaru led the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in the US premiere of Colin Matthews’ Turning Point in 2010, as part of the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival.
As the Founder and Artistic Director of the Crisalis Music Project, Mr. Macelaru spearheaded a program in which young musicians perform in a variety of settings, side by side with established, renowned artists. Their groundbreaking first season produced and presented concerts featuring chamber ensembles, a chamber orchestra, a tango operetta, and collaborations with dancer Susana Collins, which resulted in a choreographed performance of Vivaldi/Piazzolla’s Eight Seasons.
An accomplished violinist from an early age, Mr. Macelaru was the youngest concertmaster in the history of the Miami Symphony Orchestra and made his Carnegie Hall debut with that orchestra at the age of nineteen. He also played in the first violin section of the Houston Symphony for two seasons. Formerly, he held the position of Resident Conductor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he was Music Director of the Campanile Orchestra, Assistant Conductor to Larry Rachleff and Conductor for the Opera Department. A proponent of music education, Mr. Macelaru has served as a conductor with the Houston Youth Symphony, where he also conceptualized and created a successful chamber music program.
Mr. Macelaru has participated in the prestigious conducting programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival, studying under David Zinman, Murry Sidlin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Robert Spano, Oliver Knussen and Stefan Asbury. His main studies were with renowned teacher Larry Rachleff at Rice University, where he received his Master of Music degree in conducting. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Miami.
Mr. Macelaru currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife Cheryl and their son Beniamin.
Music Director of the Pacific Symphony for more than two decades, Carl St. Clair has become widely recognized for his musically distinguished performances, innovative approaches to programming, and commitment to outstanding educational programs. The largest ensemble formed in the United States during the last forty years, Pacific’s rapid artistic development is due largely to Mr. St. Clair’s leadership. During the orchestra’s first European tour several years ago, they consistently played to packed houses and received rave reviews.
Also an active guest conductor, Carl St. Clair has led the Boston Symphony (where he served as assistant conductor for several years), Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphonies of Atlanta, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Montreal, Nashville, San Francisco, Sarasota, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, to name a few. Worldwide, he has guest conducted numerous orchestras in Europe, South America, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan. Summer festival appearances include Schleswig-Holstein, Pacific (Japan), Round Top, Breckenridge, Wintergreen (NC), Texas Music Festival/ Houston and Tanglewood.
Largely influenced by his close association with Leonard Bernstein, Mr. St. Clair’s commitment to the development and performance of new works by American composers is evident in the wealth of commissions and recordings by Pacific Symphony. Under his guidance, the orchestra has commissioned works such as Philip Glass’s The Passion of Ramakrishna, William Bolcom’s song cycle, Canciones de Lorca (premiered by Placido Domingo), and Chen Yi’s cello concerto Ballad, Dance and Fantasy composed for cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Many have been subsequently recorded, including Richard Danielpour’s An American Requiem on Reference Recordings and Elliot Goldenthal’s Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio on Sony Classical with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Other recordings include the highly acclaimed CD of later works by Toru Takemitsu for Sony Classical and works by John Corigliano and Frank Ticheli for Koch Classics. Additional commissioned composers include Zhou Long, Tobias Picker and Christopher Theofandis.
Carl St. Clair has been general music director and chief conductor of the German National Theater and Staatskapelle (GNTS) in Weimar, Germany (the first non-European to hold this position), as well as general music director of the Komische Oper in Berlin and principal guest conductor of the SDR/Stuttgart, where he successfully completed a three–year recording project of the complete Villa–Lobos symphonies.
Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony and London Chamber orchestras, this season Warren-Green returns to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conducts the world premiere of Frank Corcoran’s Violin Concerto with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Dublin. He returns to the St Louis Symphony, and following his acclaimed debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in December 2011, he was immediately reinvited for the 2012/13 season. Other highlights include his Italian debut with Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali as well as a number of appearances throughout the season with the Orchestre National de Belgique, including concerts at the Palais des Beaux Arts and a televised concert at the Royal Palace in honour of Belgium’s Royal Family.
Last season he debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Zürcher Kammerorchester, and returned to the Sapporo Symphony, Armenia Philharmonic and London Philharmonic orchestras.
In North America, Warren-Green has also conducted Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras, as well as the Houston, Seattle and Vancouver symphony orchestras, to name a few. Elsewhere, recent seasons have seen performances with Royal Scottish National, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Iceland Symphony orchestras, the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
A regular on the summer festival scene, Warren-Green recently appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the 2012 Three Choirs Festival as well as the Boston Summer Arts Weekend Festival in the same year with trumpeter Alison Balsom. Other festival appearances include the closing concert of the Berlin International Festival with the London Chamber Orchestra, the International Music Festival ‘Chopin and his Europe’ with Sinfonia Varsovia and Maria João Pires, the Menton Festival and the Enescu Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of the Romanian National Radio Society. He frequently collaborates with the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elizabeth in Brussels.
Warren-Green has been personally invited to conduct on many occasions for the Royal Family in the last thirty years. In April 2011, Warren-Green conducted the London Chamber Orchestra during the marriage ceremony of HRH Prince William Duke of Cambridge and HRH Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey, which was televised to millions worldwide. Other notable occasions have included Her Majesty the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations at Kew Palace and HRH Prince of Wales’ 60th birthday concert. Warren-Green also conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra for the Service of Dedication and Prayer (celebrating the marriage of HRH Prince of Wales and HRH Duchess of Cornwall) in 2005.
Previous orchestral appointments have included Principal Conductor of the Camerata Resident Orchestra of the Megaron Athens, taking over from Sir Neville Marriner (2004-2009), Chief Conductor of the Nordiska Kammar Orkestern (1998-2005), and Chief Conductor of the Jönköpings Sinfonietta (1998-2001).
Warren-Green has recorded extensively for Sony, Phillips, Virgin EMI, Chandos and Deustche Grammophon, and regularly records with the London Chamber Orchestra for Signum Classics. He is a regular on UK television and radio, and has featured as a mentor on the BBC’s high-profile television series ‘Maestro’.
Apply here to join these fabulous conductors at Sewanee!
