FALLETTA, JOANN
Hailed by The New York Times as “…one of the finest conductors
of her generation,” JoAnn Falletta currently holds the positions of Music
Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
and Artistic Advisor to the Honolulu Symphony. 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.”
Highlights of Maestro Falletta’s 2005/06 season with the Buffalo Philharmonic
include the release of the Orchestra’s third recording on the Naxos label:
Music on the Prairie, featuring the music of Copland, and a recording
of their fourth Naxos disc, featuring the music of Respighi. A fifth disc, with
the music of John Corigliano is planned for 2006/07. This season will see the
second JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition in Buffalo.
Continuing to raise the BPO’s national and international prominence, Ms.
Falletta will once again lead the orchestra in a number of concerts to be broadcast
nationally on NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast and
international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union.
Highlights of Maestro Falletta’s season with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
include the grand opening of a second home for the Symphony - the Ferguson Center
for the Arts in Newport News and a recording of the works of Emmy-award winning
composer, John Duffy, Composer-in-Residence for the VSO. She will lead both
the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony in a series of concerts celebrating
Mozart’s 250th birthday.
Ms. Falletta has been invited to guest conduct many of the world’s finest
symphony orchestras. Highlights of her guest conducting appearances this
season include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony, and the orchestras
of Montreal, San Francisco, Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee, Honolulu, and Omaha.
Recent and upcoming international appearances include her debuts with the Tokyo
Metropolitan Symphony and the Jerusalem Symphony and return engagements with
the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, the Nurnberg Philharmonic, Bretagne,
and Orquestra Filarmonica de la UNAM. She has guest conducted over 75
orchestras across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ms. Falletta has won the coveted Stokowski Competition and the Seaver, Toscanini,
Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting. As a champion of contemporary
music, she has performed over 300 works by American composers, including more
than 70 world premieres, and has received eight consecutive awards from ASCAP
for creative programming, the 2004 ASCAP/ASOL award for Adventurous Programming
with the BPO, and the ASOL’s prestigious John S. Edwards Award. A strong
advocate for cultural partnerships and community involvement, Maestro Falletta
was named Buffalo’s most influential community leader, and Buffalo and
Erie County’s Artist of the Year for excellence in creating and supporting
the arts in Western New York.
Her growing discography includes almost 40 titles, including her most recent
recording, an August 2005 release on the Naxos label of the music of Ken Fuchs
with the London Symphony. Her 2004 recording of Griffes Orchestral Music,
on the Naxos label with the Buffalo Philharmonic, was selected as an Editor’s
Choice Recording by Gramophone. Other highly acclaimed recent recordings
include Burchfield Gallery, with music by Morton Gould and Jean Sibelius
(BPO), Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, a recording of
the Orchestra’s June 2004 performance in New York City, with music of
Kodaly, Smetana and Zemlinsky, The American Cello with the Virginia Symphony
(Albany) and Behzad Ranjbaran – Persian Trilogy, with the London
Symphony (Delos),The Music of Frederick Converse (Naxos American Classics),
and Schubert’s Guitar (Koch), featuring Ms. Falletta as guitarist
and arranger.
A native of New York City, Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree
from the Mannes College of Music and her master’s and doctorate degrees
from The Juilliard School. For more information on Ms. Falletta, visit
www.joannfalletta.com.
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