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Conductors & Musicians
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Jorge Mester, music director |
This is Jorge Mester’s fifth season as music director of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. One of the world’s most dynamic conductors, Maestro Mester has an eclectic and distinguished background that includes conducting, recording and teaching. He is conductor laureate of the prestigious Aspen Music Festival, which he led for 21 years, and also serves as music director of the Pasadena Symphony, a post he has held since 1984, and the Louisville Symphony. From 1998 to 2002, Maestro Mester was artistic director of Mexico City’s leading orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de Mexico. The Los Angeles Times recently called Mester a conductor of “passionate vision” and proclaimed “Mester is a master.” Mester, who is of Hungarian descent, was born and raised in Mexico City. An accomplished violist, he performed with the Beaux-Arts Quartet for several years before focusing exclusively on conducting. During his 12-year tenure as music director of the Louisville Orchestra from 1967 to 1979, Maestro Mester made 72 recordings with the orchestra. Mester’s passion for conducting extends from the stage to the classroom. He directed the Juilliard School’s prestigious conducting department for a number of years and has taught such conductors as James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Andreas Delfs, JoAnn Falletta and John Nelson. He also helped introduce to the public such artists as Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Renée Fleming, Cho-Liang Lin and Robert McDuffie. A noted opera conductor as well, Mester has led numerous productions with the New York City Opera, the Sydney Opera, Spoleto and the Washington Opera. He has also guest-conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and many others. This season, Maestro Mester leads five Classical concert programs with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the Fall Music Fest's Dvorák, Nielsen & Mozart and Opening Night Gala.
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Jack Everly is principal pops conductor of the Baltimore and Indianapolis symphonies as well as the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, Ontario. A multi-faceted conductor, he guest-conducts on some of the world’s leading concert, opera and ballet stages. For 14 years, Maestro Everly served as music director of the American Ballet Theater. Jack Everly conducts the 2008-09 season's New Year's Eve Gala performance on December 31, 2008, Ring in the New on January 2, Pops No. 3 Viva Las Vegas on March 10-15 and Pops No. 4 Hollywood Epics on April 28-May 3, 2009.
Acclaimed Russian conductor Vladimir Verbitsky regularly conducts the major Moscow and St. Petersburg orchestras and has been chief conductor and music director of Russia’s Voronezh Philharmonic since 1972. He is also conductor laureate of the West Australian Symphony. Vladimir Verbitsky conducts Classical No. 6 Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony performances on April 16-18, 2009.
Grammy Award-winner Jeff Tyzik has led numerous pops concerts with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra over the past four years. Tyzik is principal pops conductor of the Rochester, Vancouver and Winnipeg orchestras and is widely considered one of the foremost pops conductors in the country. Jeff Tyzik conducts the Pops No. 1 A Century of Broadway II performances on January 6-1, 2009.
Michael Krajewski is principal pops conductor of the Houston, New Mexico and Jacksonville orchestras. He also served in that position with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra from 1994-2005. Krajewski has earned a local following for his pops concerts with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. Michael Krajewski conducts the Pops No. 2 Cirque de la Symphonie performances on February 10-15, 2009.
Stuart Chafetz is music director and conductor of the Maui Pops Orchestra and regularly guest-conducts some of the leading orchestras in the country, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra and others. Known for his innovative and exciting classical, pops and family concerts, Chafetz is responsible for the first live symphonic radio broadcasts on Hawaii Public Radio featuring the Maui Symphony. He was featured as a 2004 and 2005 Emerging Artist in Symphony magazine. Stuart Chafetz conducts the Classics Light Around the World in 80 Minutes performances on September 12-13 and Born in the USA performances on October 3-4, 2008 and the Family Fare Journeys Through Motion performance on May 31, 2009.
Stuart Malina, music director and conductor of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra since 2000, won a Tony Award for his orchestration — with Billy Joel — of the musical Movin’ Out. Maestro Malina has conducted numerous operas and guest-conducted many of the top orchestras in the country. He is also a concert pianist who has performed throughout the Eastern United States and in the Netherlands and Russia. Maestro Malina made his Carnegie Hall debut in February of 2007, conducting the New York Pops in an all-Gershwin tribute including Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the keyboard. Stuart Malina conducts the Holiday Pops performances on December 18-21, 2008, and the Mozart 'The 'Great' performances on May 8-9, 2009.
As a pianist, Howard Shelley has performed around the world with leading orchestras and conductors. As a conductor, he has led all four London orchestras, the Royal Scottish National and Ulster orchestras as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Munich Symphony and many others. In a unique series of five London recitals, broadcast by the BBC, Maestro Shelley played Rachmaninoff's complete solo piano music. His discography now includes more than 100 recordings.
Howard Shelley conducts and performs in the Fall Music Festival's Shelley Plays Saint- Saëns performances on November 21-22, 2008.
Andrew Lane is resident and principal pops conductor of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra. His pops concerts have featured Branford Marsalis, Deborah Gibson, Peter Schickele, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen and many others. Maestro Lane is also pops conductor of the Florida West Coast Symphony (Sarasota) and has guest-conducted many other orchestras. Andrew Lane conducts the Family Fare Stories in Music performance on September 28, 2008.
James Cochran is founder and director of the 70-voice Philharmonic Center Chorale as well as resident organist of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and director of the Philharmonic Youth Chorale. He conducts the annual Seasonal Treasures concert. As an organ recitalist, Cochran has performed widely in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Mexico. He has served as a collaborating pianist for singers Hermann Prey, Seth McCoy and Michele Byrd. James Cochran conducts the Mozart's Requiem performance on October 11, and the Seasonal Treasures performance on December 13, 2008. |
