2011/2012 Guest Conductors
DR. HENRY PANION
Henry Panion, III, PhD, holds degrees in music education and music theory from Alabama A & M University and the Ohio State University, respectively. He is most known for his work as conductor and arranger for superstar Stevie Wonder, for whose performances and recordings he has led many of the world’s most notable orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, the Birmingham (England) Symphony, the Orchestra of Paris, the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony, the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic, the Ra’anana Philharmonic, the Nice Symphony, the Gothenburg Symphony, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The two-CD set Natural Wonder features Dr. Panion conducting his arrangements of many of Stevie Wonder’s award-winning, chart-topping songs with Stevie and the Tokyo Philharmonic.
The creative force behind Gospel Goes Classical featuring Juanita Bynum, Jonathan Butler, and the GGC Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Dr. Panion made history topping the Billboard charts on both the Gospel and Classical Crossover Charts simultaneously. Other artists for whom Dr. Panion has had the opportunity to conduct and/or arrange include The Winans, Chet Atkins, Eugenia Zuckerman, Aretha Franklin, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Chaka Khan, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, and American Idol winners Carrie Underwood and Ruben Studdard.
Dr. Panion’s own works are programmed throughout the United States by many of this country’s major orchestras, including the Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Cleveland Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the National Symphony. A select list of other orchestras performing Dr. Panion’s works includes San Antonio, Nova Scotia, Columbus, Charlotte, San Diego, Louisville, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Arkansas, Jacksonville, Alabama, and the former Birmingham Metropolitan Orchestra, for which he served as Music Director from 1995-1997.
As a producer, composer, arranger, and orchestrator, Dr. Panion’s work has produced two Grammy Awards, two Dove Awards, and a host of other national music awards and nominations. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Panion served as chair of the Department of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Other honors include a 1995 Distinguished Alumni Award from Alabama A & M University and a 1996 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award from the Ohio State University. He is the 1996 recipient of the Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction and the 2009 recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus' Civic and Cultural Advancement Award. Dr. Panion was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1995, as well as the Alabama A & M University Hall of Fame in 2000. The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees has honored Dr. Panion for his many contributions to the field of music by bestowing upon him the distinguished appointment of University Professor. He is a 2011 recipient of the prestigious Governor’s Arts Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. In 2009, Dr. Panion was appointed to the post of Cultural Ambassador for the City of Birmingham, AL.
MANFREDO SCHMIEDT
Manfredo Schmiedt was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1963. He began his music studies at the age of ten playing trumpet.
Since 2002 he is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the University of Caxias do Sul Symphony Orchestra.
In demand as a guest conductor, Schmiedt has conducted the Albany Symphony Orchestra (GA); Orquesta Filarmónica de Mendoza, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Nacional de San Juan and the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial de Rosário in Argentina; the Orquesta Sinfónica del SODRE in Uruguay; Orquestra Filarmônica do Espirito Santo, Orquestra Filarmônica de São Caetano do Sul, Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de Caminas in São Paulo, Orquestra Sinfônica da USP and the Petrobrás Sinfônica in Brazil. Schmiedt became the first Brazilian to conduct the Belgrade Symphony Orchestra as well as the RTS Symphony Orchestra in Belgrade.
Schmiedt was the assistant conductor to Isaac Karabtchevsky at Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra for four years.
In 1989 Schmiedt earned his Bachelor in Music (Conducting) at the South Brazilian State University (UFRGS). He earned his Master in Music (Conducting) in 1998 at University of Georgia with Mark Cedel, Melinda O'Neal, and Yoel Levi. He was also the assistant conductor of UGA Symphony Orchestra. After finishing those two years, he was awarded with the Director's Excellence Award and joined the Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honors Society. In 1997 and 1998 Schmiedt served as the guest conductor for the High School Workshop of the University of Georgia.
In further studies he has been an active student in the Kurt Thomas Courses advanced class in Den Haag, Netherlands and was an active student in the Helmut Rilling classes at the European Music Festival in Stuttgart. Schmiedt was a student at the Curso de Direccion Orquestal, promoted by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Argentina and taught by the world-famousconductor Jean Fournet. Schmiedt conducted the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra (OSPA) on four occasions as a result of winning two competitions for young conductors. He also won the Açoriano prize for his performance as conductor in several presentations of "The Soldier's Tale" by Igor Stravinsky. Schmiedt started his career in 1985 as choir conductor. In 1991 he joined the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra as Choir and Orchestra conductor. Since then he has been conducting the orchestra and preparing the choir for performances of masterworks such as Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Lobgesang Symphony, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ German Requiem and Orff's Carmina Burana.
DAVID HOOSE
Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the Boston University College of Fine Arts, Hoose serves as Music Director of the Cantata Singers & Ensemble and is former Music Director of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Saint Louis Symphony, Utah Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Quad City Symphony, Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Emmanuel Music, and with the orchestras of New England Conservatory, Shepherd School of Music, and Eastman. With the Cantata Singers, Hoose received the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming; with the Emmanuel Wind Quintet, the Walter W. Naumburg Award For Chamber Music; and as a fellowship student at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Dmitri Mitropoulos Award. His recordings appear on the Koch International, Nonesuch, New World, Delos, Gunmar, and CRI labels.
DMITRY SITKOVETSKY
Dmitry Sitkovetsky is an artist whose creativity defies categorising. He has built up an active and successful career as a violinist, conductor, arranger, chamber musician & festival director. Sitkovetsky has performed as a soloist with a number of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berlin, New York and LA Philharmonic Orchestras, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Concertgebouw Orchestra, all of the major London orchestras, NHK, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. He has performed at a number of high-profile festivals including Salzburg, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Verbier, Istanbul, Newport, Festival del Sole (Napa Valley) and the IMG Tuscan Sun Festival. In 2003, he was appointed Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, a position he currently holds with great success.
In the 11/12 season, Sitkovetsky continues to work extensively throughout Europe and the USA with engagement highlights including concerto performances with the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Jansons/Britten), conducting the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and working with the Festival Strings Lucerne, Aarhus Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Orchestra of the Opera North, Portland Symphony, Napa Valley Symphony, Orchestra di Padova e Veneto and the Vaasa City Orchestra as part of the Korsholm Music Festival 30th anniversary. He is coordinating some exciting chamber music projects with King’s Place and the Lincoln Center over the next few seasons.
Recent engagement highlights included conducting the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony’s prestigious New Year’s Eve concert; concerto engagements included the Seattle Symphony (Inkinen/Britten) and the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra (Boder/Berg). Play/directing engagements included the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Geidai Philharmonic, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of New Russia and the San Antonio Symphony.
Sitkovetsky has built a flourishing career as a conductor. From 1996–2001, he was Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra and then appointed Conductor Laureate, and from 2002–2005 held the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian State Orchestra. From 2006–2009, he was the Artist-in-Residence at the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon (Spain) a position that involved conducting, solo playing, touring, chamber music and masterclasses. As a guest conductor, he has worked with leading orchestras including the London & Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, BBC, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle and Dallas Symphony Orchestras, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Santa Cecilia and the St Petersburg Philharmonic.
Sitkovetsky is the founding director of the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra (NES CO) established in 1990 which is comprised of distinguished string players from Eastern & Western Europe. Since his successful transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for string trio and string orchestra, he has transcribed more than 40 works mostly for string orchestra by Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Dohnanyi, Bartók, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Schnittke. He has been a member of ASCAP since 1985 and his transcriptions are published by Doblinger, Sikorski and Schirmer.
Sitkovetsky was the Artistic Director of a number of festivals including the Korsholm Music Festival in Finland (1983-1993 and 2002), Seattle International Music Festival (1992-1997), The Silk Route of Music Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan (1999) and has worked with a diverse range of artists such as Argerich, Ashkenazy, Bashmet, Davidovich, Harrell, Kissin, Maisky, Ohlsson, Penderecki, Repin, Schnittke and Shchedrin. In May 2007, Sitkovetsky was the Artist-in-Residence at the Bodensee Festival in Germany where he performed a wide variety of activities: soloist, conductor, chamber musician, recitalist, masterclasses and conducted the NES Chamber Orchestra in residence.
He has an active and varied recording career with an extensive discography which includes all the major violin concerti, numerous chamber music works as well as orchestral recordings that he’s conducted. In 2010, Hänssler Classic released a boxed set of the complete Mozart Violin Sonatas with Antonio Pappano and Konstantin Lifschitz. The same label, recently released Sitkovetsky’s string orchestra transcriptions of works by Shostakovich and Stravinsky with the NES CO, as well as Piano Trios of Rodion Shchedrin and Peteris Vasks. On the Concertgebouw Live label, there was a release of Dutilleux’s L'Arbre des Songes with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Mariss Jansons.
Sitkovetsky shows a keen interest in performing contemporary repertoire - he premiered the violin concerti written for him by John Casken (1995) and Krzystof Meyer (2000) and often performs works by Dutilleux, Penderecki, Schnittke, Pärt and Shchedrin, who has written several works for Sitkovetsky both as violinist and conductor. In 2005, he performed two major works by John Corigliano - his Second Symphony and the Red Violin Suite in a play/conduct concert. Sitkovetsky’s latest premiere was The Gifts of the Magi written by Jakov Jakoulov after O’Henry’s famous story and narrated by Peter Coyote with the Greensboro Symphony. He also played a unique solo recital of contemporary music at the Verbier Festival in 2009 with a programme by Schedrin, Vasks, Auerbach and Ali-Zadeh.
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, he grew up in Moscow studying at the Moscow Conservatory and after his emigration in 1977, at the Juilliard School in New York. Since 1987 he has resided in London with his wife, Susan, and their daughter, Julia.