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JoAnn Falletta Conductor Full Length Biography JoAnn Falletta has a rapidly growing international reputation as a vibrant ambassador for music and an inspiring artistic leader. An effervescent and exuberant figure on the podium, she has been praised by The Washington Post as having “Toscanini’s tight control over ensemble, Walter’s affectionate balancing of inner voices, Stokowski’s gutsy showmanship, and a controlled frenzy worthy of Bernstein.” Acclaimed by The New York Times as “one of the finest conductors of her generation”, she serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center.
Since stepping up to the podium as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the fall of 1999, Maestro Falletta has been credited with bringing the Philharmonic to a new level of national and international prominence. Under her direction, the Buffalo Philharmonic returned to recording, releasing 12 discs on the NAXOS label over the course of 10 years, earning two Grammy Awards and five Grammy nominations, and making the BPO one of the leading orchestras for the Naxos label and one of the most frequently recorded orchestras in the country. Additional accomplishments include an acclaimed Carnegie Hall performance in 2004, a highly successful tour of five Florida cities in 2010, the release of 6 recordings on the orchestra’s own Beau Fleuve label, the founding of the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition in partnership with WNED, numerous broadcasts of BPO concerts on NPR’s Performance Today and Symphony Cast, international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union; and a nation-wide broadcast on PBS television. This season, the BPO is scheduled to release a disc of works by Gershwin and record music of Duke Ellington for the Naxos label. The Orchestra will add to its Beau Fleuve discography with two news discs of music of Polish composers, called “Polish Treasures” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Last season, JoAnn and the BPO followed up on the double-Grammy award winning recording of Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man with the release of John Corigliano’s The Red Violin featuring BPO Concertmaster Michael Ludwig as soloist and a second disc of the music of Ernö von Dohnányi, both on the Naxos label. The orchestra also released a live recording of works of Rachmaninoff & Rossini, which were featured on their Florida tour. The diamond anniversary season saw the release of the BPO’s much anticipated first disc in a multi-year recording project of the music of holocaust victim Marcel Tyberg, whose scores were rediscovered in 2005 in the care of a Buffalo doctor, and a recording of romantic works of Josef Suk, including the Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra played by Michael Ludwig. In special recognition of the 75th anniversary, the orchestra released a five-disc set of music from the BPO vaults that showcase the sound of the orchestra with eight of its music directors, including Ms. Falletta, William Steinberg, Josef Krips, Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, Julius Rudel, Semyon Bychkov, and Maximiano Valdes. This season, the BPO will once again be featured on national broadcasts of NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast, and international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union. The BPO is the only major orchestra to be featured twice on NPR’s From the Top. Other recent broadcasts include a national PBS televised special, Bernstein’s “Ode to Freedom” featuring Ms. Falletta as host, and a PBS special of the Four Seasons with Mark O’Connor and Catherine Cho.
Ms. Falletta is celebrating her first season as Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. She is the first American and the first woman to lead the Orchestra, which is considered to be one of the most important roles in the arts and cultural life of Northern Ireland. Ms. Falletta will conduct the orchestra for the first time as its Principal Conductor in Ulster Hall on Wednesday September 21, 2011. She will have eight engagements with the orchestra in her first season of her three-year contract, conducting a quarter of the main season programs. She will also lead the orchestra in her first appearance at the Proms in London, and at select regional concerts and other events. The orchestra has a unique exclusive broadcast partnership with BBC, under which its concerts are recorded and streamed for internet broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, Radio Ulster and BBC TV. Ms. Falletta is invited to guest conduct many of the world’s finest symphony orchestras. She is beginning her first season of a three year appointment as Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, where she will conduct at least two programs each season. This year, she will make her South American debut with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile in Santiago Chile, guest conduct the London Symphony in a program of music of Kenneth Fuchs to be recorded for the Naxos label, return to Asia to conduct the Korean Broadcast Symphony in Seoul and the Beijing Symphony in China, and make a tour of Germany and Italy with the Sudwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Highlights of her recent international guest conducting appearances include the Haifa Symphony (Israel), Goettingen Symphony (Germany), Ulster Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Lithuania, Orquestra de Extremadura (Spain), Warsaw National Philharmonic, Kraków Philharmonic, Orchestra National de Belgique, Seoul Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Orchestra of Asturias (Spain), Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre National De Lyon, Northwest German Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Lisbon Metropolitan Symphony. She has guest conducted over 100 orchestras in North America, including the orchestras of Philadelphia, Detroit, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Houston, Rochester, Utah, Edmonton, Quebec and the National Symphony. Ms. Falletta’s summer activities have taken her to numerous music festivals including Aspen, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, Grand Teton, Wolf Trap, Eastern Music, Cabrillo, OK Mozart International, Lanaudiere, Peter Britt, Breckenridge, Brevard and Interlochen, among others.
Few artists are as important to the fabric of their communities as JoAnn Falletta. She was named Buffalo’s most influential community leader, Buffalo and Erie County’s Artist of the Year, was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, and this spring was presented with the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, the University of Buffalo’s highest award. Last year, she received the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Award for outstanding leadership in the Marcel Tyberg Musical Legacy project. During her tenure, the Orchestra’s budget has grown by 25 percent, subscriptions have reached record levels, the popular summer Artpark series has been reestablished, outreach activities have increased, and the BPO has regained its national prominence through recordings and broadcasts. The JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition has brought international acclaim and attention to the classical guitar, the Buffalo region and the BPO. Falletta is a member of the Western New York Women’s Hall of Fame, and received the Human Relations Award from the Buffalo/Niagra Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. In Virginia, she earned a star on Norfolk’s Legends of Music Walk of Fame in recognition of her effect on the appreciation of classical music in Hampton Roads and Virginia and was named Norfolk’s Downtowner of the Year for 2011. Falletta is a strong advocate and mentor for young professional and student musicians. She has led seminars for women conductors for the League of American Orchestras and has great success working with outstanding young musicians, guest conducting the orchestras of many of the top conservatories, including Curtis, Juilliard, Mannes and Manhattan School and summer programs at Interlochen, Round Top and Brevard, among others. Falletta’s recording schedule for this season includes a world premiere recording of the music of Kenneth Fuchs with the London Symphony for Naxos, and a recording with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra of the music of Avro Paert. Maestro Falletta’s growing discography, which currently includes 64 titles, consists of recordings with the London Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Czech National Symphony, Philadelphia Philharmonia and Women’s Philharmonic, among others. In addition to the two Grammy Awards and three Grammy Nominations for 2009, the Corigliano Red Violin, Tyberg and Schubert discs with the BPO received Grammy nominations for best producer. She received her first Grammy nomination in 2006 for “Eventide” Concerto for English Horn, Harp, Percussion, and String Orchestra, by Kenneth Fuchs, from the CD An American Place (Naxos American Classics). Her 2007 recording of the music of Respighi and her 2003 recording of Griffes Orchestral Music, both on the Naxos label with the Buffalo Philharmonic, were selected as Editor’s Choice Recordings by Gramophone. Other recent Naxos discs include a recording of Jack Gallagher’s music with the London Symphony, world premiere recordings of Daron Hagen’s opera Shining Brow, based on the early years of Frank Lloyd Wright, and two “new” works by Franz Schubert, featuring the completion of Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony”, and a newly orchestrated transcription of Death and the Maiden, her first recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for the Naxos label, featuring the violin concertos on Dohnányi, the music of Paul Schoenfield with the Prague Philharmonia, works of Aaron Copland with the BPO, and Borrowed Treasures, Ms. Falletta’s third disc of chamber music for guitar, featuring Ms. Falletta as guitarist.
Ms. Falletta made three recordings of works by women composers with the Women’s Philharmonic. Of special interest is her recording of works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and Germaine Tailleferre, which received a “Best Classical Recording” award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors and a “Most Creative Programming” award from Classic CD Magazine. Additional recordings feature music by Poulenc, Ravel, Moross, Shulamit Ran, Elinor Armer and John Luther Adams. Ms. Falletta’s radio and television credits include numerous appearances on NPR’s Performance Today, Fresh Air, and From the Top, WQXR, WNCN, CBS Sunday Morning, the Charlie Rose Show, the MacNeil Lehrer News Hour, BBC Radio, and several nationally televised performances on PBS including Live from Lincoln Center-Juilliard at 80, Seasons of Life with Mark O’Connor and the BPO, and a special PBS TV documentary about music with Penn & Teller. In In addition to her current posts with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Virginia Symphony, the Ulster Orchestra and the Brevard Music Center, Ms. Falletta has held the positions of artistic advisor to the Honolulu Symphony, music director of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the Queens Philharmonic and the Women’s Philharmonic. Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music in New York, her master’s and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School, and in addition, has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates. JoAnn Falletta Conductor Condensed Biography JoAnn Falletta has a rapidly growing international reputation as a vibrant ambassador for music and an inspiring artistic leader. An effervescent and exuberant figure on the podium, she has been praised by The Washington Post as having “Toscanini’s tight control over ensemble, Walter’s affectionate balancing of inner voices, Stokowski’s gutsy showmanship, and a controlled frenzy worthy of Bernstein.” Acclaimed by The New York Times as “one of the finest conductors of her generation”, she serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center.
Highlights of her recent international guest conducting appearances include the Haifa Symphony (Israel), Goettingen Symphony (Germany), Ulster Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Lithuania, Orquestra de Extremadura (Spain), Warsaw National Philharmonic, Kraków Philharmonic, Orchestra National de Belgique, Seoul Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Orchestra of Asturias (Spain), Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre National De Lyon, Northwest German Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Lisbon Metropolitan Symphony. She has guest conducted over 100 orchestras in North America, including the orchestras of Philadelphia, Detroit, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Houston, Rochester, Utah, Edmonton, Quebec and the National Symphony. Ms. Falletta’s summer activities have taken her to numerous music festivals including Aspen, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, Grand Teton, Wolf Trap, Eastern Music, Cabrillo, OK Mozart International, Lanaudiere, Peter Britt, Breckenridge, Brevard and Interlochen, among others. She is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards including the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award, the coveted Stokowski Competition, and the Toscanini, Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra League’s prestigious John S. Edwards Award. She is an ardent champion of music of our time, introducing over 400 works by American composers, including more than 100 world premieres. Hailing her as a “leading force for the music of our time”, she was honored with her 10th ASCAP award in 2008. Ms. Falletta serves as a Member of the National Council on the Arts. The Buffalo Philharmonic, which celebrated its 75th Anniversary Season, last year, will release three new recordings, and record a fourth this season and has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in May 2013, as part of the Spring for Music Festival. This spring, the League of American Orchestras and ASCAP presented the BPO with a
The Virginia Symphony’s Ms. Falletta is celebrating her first season as Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. She is the first American and the first woman to lead the Orchestra. She will have eight engagements with the orchestra in her first season of her three-year contract, conducting a quarter of the main season programs. She will also lead the orchestra in her first appearance at the Proms in London. The orchestra has a unique exclusive broadcast partnership with BBC, under which its concerts are recorded and streamed for internet broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, Radio Ulster and BBC TV. In the past 10 years, her recordings for Naxos have garnered nine Grammy nominations, including two Grammy awards in 2009 for John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man with the BPO. Falletta’s recording schedule for this season includes a world premiere recording of the music of Kenneth Fuchs with the London Symphony for Naxos, and a recording with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra of the music of Avro Paert. Maestro Falletta’s growing discography, which currently includes 64 titles, consists of recordings with the London Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Czech National Symphony, Philadelphia Philharmonia and Women’s Philharmonic, among others. Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music in New York, her master’s and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School.
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