David Gilbert, Interim Artistic Director/Conductor David Gilbert is Music Director of the Greenwich (Connecticut) Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen (NJ) Philharmonic, and the Senior Concert Orchestra of NY. He is also Resident Conductor at the Manhattan School of Music. After winning First Prize in the 1970 Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition, he served as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic 1970-79, was Principal Conductor of the American Ballet Theatre 1971-75, Chief Assistant to Pierre Boulez at the 1976 Bayreuth Festival, Principal Guest Conductor of the Beijing Philharmonic 1980-82, and for 7 summers Music Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. His guest conducting has included the New York Philharmonic, and the orchestras of Pittsburgh, Nashville, New Jersey, Rochester, Oakland, Louisville, Lexington, Milan's RAI Orchestra, and the Seoul Philharmonic. In 2004 and 2006, he served as the U.S. Judge for the Pedrotti International Conducting Competition in Trento, Italy. He has conducted many orchestral and opera performances at Manhattan School of Music, including several opera premieres, which are recorded on Newport Classics and Vox labels. He is a flutist and composer, and is currently working on his own opera based on Yeats’ The Shadowy Waters. Ron Spigelman www.insidethearts.com/sticksanddrones July 12 to July 19 The exciting and innovative Australian conductor, Ron Spigelman, is an honors graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London. In 1996 he was awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARAM) for distinguishing himself in his field. He has been the Associate Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Before this he was the Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet and Music Director of the San Angelo Symphony and the Texas Chamber Orchestra. Amongst many career highlights, his debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra garnering critical acclaim for his performance of the world premier of Lowell Liebermann’s Pegasus, and his critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall conducting debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic in 2004. Currently he is the Music Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MO), Music Director of the Metropolitan Classical Ballet (TX), and he also teaches Conducting and special topics at Drury University. His blog is widely read and can be found on www.insidethearts.com under the title Sticks and Drones Ron was appointed as the Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony after his American debut with that orchestra in 1994. Today, 14 years after his emigration to the United States, he has made numerous guest appearances with symphony orchestras across the country, including the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and many others. In Texas he has made numerous appearances with the San Antonio Symphony, the Dallas Opera Orchestra and the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He has returned to Australia for performances with the Adelaide, Queensland and Sydney Symphony orchestras. Ron has accompanied a wide range of internationally renowned artists including: Horacio Gutierrez Richard Stoltzman, Pamela Frank, Sharon Isbin, Jubilant Sykes, Jon Kimura Parker, Edith Chen, Navah Perlman, Elissa Lee Kokkonen, Orli Shaham and many others. Pops artists he has performed with include: Marvin Hamlisch, Canadian Brass, Tanya Tucker, Kathy Mattea, Mark O’Connor, King’s Singers, Arturo Sandoval, Audra McDonald, Dianne Reeves, Cherish the Ladies, and legends James Taylor, Art Garfunkel and Peter Paul and Mary. He was the executive producer of the Marvin Hamlisch BPO Christmas Pops recording, and was the co-editor for all of the BPO NPR broadcasts between 2001 - 2005. Previous to his appointments in Texas, Ron was the Assistant to the Chief Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. A position created especially for him, after he was the first to be awarded the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Conductor-in-Training position for two consecutive years, first with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and then with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. During this time, he also conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Opera and the Australian Youth Orchestra. Since his first appointment in 1992, Ron has conducted over 1000 performances and has a repertoire of over 400 works including several full-length ballets. Equally at home with symphonic pops, he is known for his creative programming and audience involvement. He has made several recordings for radio broadcast as well as two compact discs. “Dream Angels is a collection of orchestral lullabies recorded with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. It was nominated for the Australian Record Industry Award (ARIA) for best children’s release in 1995. The education program Ron helped implement for the Fort Worth Symphony, has been the recipient of numerous NEA and local grants, and gained a state wide and nation wide reputation for it’s groundbreaking ideas and educational value. Ron’s principal instrument study was the Trumpet, and as a soloist he performed with several British orchestras and at music festivals in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy, including the Florence Maggio Musicale, at the invitation of the composer Luciano Berio. He still performs on the Trumpet and sings in Pops performances. A champion of new music he has conducted over 30 world premieres. His performance of the Lukas Foss Opera The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, was broadcast here and internationally on the National Public Radio show Symphonycast. He also has served as a faculty member for a Donald Thulean ASOL Conductors Workshop. In 1997, 2001 and 2005 he was James Conlon’s assistant conductor at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. This season he begins his tenure as Principal Pops Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony, and makes his debut with the Tulsa Symphony. He lives in Springfield with his wife Lisa and son’s Noah and Elijah. Christopher Confessore July 26 to August 2 Christopher Confessore celebrates his fourteenth season as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and his ninth season as a member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s conducting staff in 2008-09. During his tenure in Brevard, the orchestra has performed a broad repertoire – including the world premieres of seven compositions commissioned by the orchestra – and enjoyed a dramatic period of artistic growth, increased attendance at all performances, and financial stability. Mr. Confessore assumes the newly-created position of Principal Pops Conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra with the 2008-09 Season. He joined the ASO as its Assistant Conductor in 2000 and was promoted to Associate Conductor in 2001 and Resident Conductor in 2004. His appearances on the ASO’s Masterworks series have garnered rave reviews from the Birmingham News for his “special talent for drawing the broadly lyrical out of his orchestra.” He has led the orchestra in a wide variety of performances throughout the state of Alabama. Mr. Confessore’s schedule as a guest conductor has included appearances with the Houston Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008-09 he is scheduled to appear with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the Reno Philharmonic. He made his international debut in June of 2004, conducting the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania. During the 1999-2000 Season, Mr. Confessore served as Interim Education and Outreach Conductor of the Houston Symphony, conducting multiple performances on the orchestra’s Lollipops, Discovery, and First Concerts series, as well as other community outreach concerts. From 1992-2000 Mr. Confessore served as Associate Conductor of the Florida West Coast Symphony in Sarasota. From 1990-1995 he served as Education Director of the Florida West Coast Symphony, administering one of the most intensive orchestral education programs in the country. Hailed by the Birmingham News as a leader with “firm vision and confidence,” Christopher Confessore has accompanied a distinguished list of artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Glenn Dicterow and Carol Wincenc. As a Pops conductor, he has appeared with a diverse group of performers, including Grammy Award winners Art Garfunkel, Roberta Flack, Marvin Hamlisch, Peabo Bryson, Larry Gatlin and Nanci Griffith, and Tony Award winners Debbie Gravitte and Michael Maguire. In April of 2005, music columnist Mary Colurso of The Birmingham News remarked “Anyone who regards the symphony as stuffy and elitist hasn’t been to a SuperPops show when Confessore’s in charge. He exudes nice-guy appeal on stage, along with real warmth, a sense of humor and smarts to spare.” Mr. Confessore has studied with internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin and has attended workshops and seminars led by Gustav Meier, Harold Farberman, and Lawrence Leighton Smith. He holds a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Southern California and the Bachelor of Music degree in Bassoon Performance from Florida State University. Robert Franz www.robertfranz.com August 9 to August 16 Music Director Designate of the Boise Philharmonic, newly appointed Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, and Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony, Robert Franz is emerging as one of the most talented conductors of his generation. He is also currently serving as Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic through the 2008-09 season. Eminent composer Bright Sheng has praised Franz for his “extremely musical and passionate approach towards music making” and critics have hailed his “masterly pace, emphasis and technical control” calling his conducting “viscerally thrilling”. Maestro Franz will begin his tenure as Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic in the 2008-2009 season, where he will conduct five pairs of Masterpiece Subscription Concerts over 8 weeks, including multi-media performances of Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light”. The innovations that Franz will bring as Music Director will include a new tradition of inviting composers to attend performances of their works and be a part of the Boise community. This season Shulamit Ran will visit Boise. As Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony in Ohio, Mr. Franz will begin his sixth season with performances of a wide range of great symphonic works, fully staged ballet, opera and Broadway musicals, and a continuation of his highly successful artistic collaborations with other prominent organizations, including performing and visual arts groups, libraries and area churches. With a wide and varying knowledge of symphonic and operatic works, Maestro Franz has worked with some of today’s finest classical soloists, including James Galway, Joshua Bell and Rachel Barton, as well as many of the top pops artists such as Chris Botti, Chaka Khan, and Judy Collins. He has been invited to guest conduct orchestras throughout the United States, including multiple appearances with such orchestras as the Rochester Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony and the Columbus Symphony, among others. A champion of new music, Franz has conducted numerous world premieres. As associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, he re-vitalized an ASCAP award-winning new music concert series, and served as co-host of In a Different Key, a weekly contemporary classical music radio program on WUOL . On two occasions, ASCAP has recognized Robert Franz for his advocacy in arts education. Under his direction, both the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008 and the Louisville Orchestra in 2001 were awarded the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming. The Louisville Orchestra’s award lead to the creation a 2.5-hour education program for Kentucky Educational Television entitled, Creating Music and Stories. Winner of the 2008 BPO/ECMEA Music Educators Award for Excellence, Mr. Franz is a strong supporter of arts education, and has created arts education programs for the Carolina Chamber Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, West End Chamber Ensemble and the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, including that organization’s innovative Bolton Research Project. In 2007, Franz received the Extraordinary Leadership Award as Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony. In addition to his current posts, Mr. Franz served as associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra from 1997-2006, the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, and the National Repertory Orchestra and has led the Louisville Youth Orchestra, and the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony. He continues to serve as Music Director Emeritus of the Carolina Chamber Symphony, an orchestra that he founded.    Mr. Franz received his Master of Music degree in conducting from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1992 and his Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance in 1990 from that same institution.  He has participated in conducting workshops in the Czech Republic, St. Petersburg (Russia), Nashville (ASOL), the Festival at Sandpoint and was a participant in the 1997 National Conductor Preview (ASOL). Mark Mandarano, Guest Conductor Summer 2008 A gifted communicator, conductor Mark Mandarano is a charismatic leader with an engaging stage presence. He has recently been named the Principal Guest Conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, he performed a gala concert with the orchestra in Carnegie Hall featuring soloists from the Bolshoi and Kirov opera houses. In coming seasons, will lead the orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and other venues. In the spring of 2005, as a participant in the National Conductor Institute with Leonard Slatkin, he conducted the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, which performs its inaugural concerts in New York in the spring of 2008. He has held staff conducting positions with several orchestras including, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Orange County, California where, over four years, he conducted more than 100 performances seen by more than 100,000 adults, families and schoolchildren. From 1994 through 1999 he served as Resident Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted at Lincoln Center. At Carnegie Hall, Mr. Mandarano has performed with both the American Composers Orchestra and the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra. He has also led critically acclaimed tours throughout the United States and Russia. In recent seasons, he has appeared as guest conductor in Russia with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ulianovsk State Symphony. At home, Mr. Mandarano has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (CA), Houston Symphony (TX), New Jersey Symphony, Long Beach Symphony (CA), Rochester Philharmonic (NY), South Dakota Symphony (SD), the Westchester Philharmonic (NY), and the Bard Festival Orchestra (NY). He has worked with and/or prepared orchestras for such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Roger Norrington, Neeme Jarvi, Carl St. Clair, Leon Botstein and Valery Gergiev. In the spring of 1998, Mark Mandarano conducted the Westchester Philharmonic in the world premiere performances of the work that won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1999: Melinda Wagner’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion. In the fall of the 1998-99, Mr. Mandarano returned to Carnegie Hall to perform the same work with the American Composers Orchestra. A recording released by Bridge Records has garnered significant praise (“Soloist, conductor and orchestra do a splendid job,” Strictly Classical; “The performance is exemplary,” Fanfare). In addition to his performing career, Mark Mandarano maintains an active interest in the musical education of young people and in reaching out to all audiences. His article on Brahms’s Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 76 has been published in The Compleat Brahms (Norton). A National Merit Scholar and a Presidential Scholar Finalist, Mr. Mandarano holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and Cornell University as well as a diploma with honors from the Fontainebleau Conservatory in France. He has studied conducting, orchestration and composition with Pulitzer-Prize winning composer, Karel Husa and continued conducting studies with Frederik Prausnitz, and Harold Farberman. In 1998, he was invited by the New York Philharmonic to participate in a masterclass with Kurt Masur and performed in a workshop with Zdenek Macal. In 2005, he traveled to Germany to study with the renowned Finnish conducting teacher, Jorma Panula, and won a concert performance with the Nuremberg Symphony during its first annual competition. In 1995, he was selected by the American Symphony Orchestra League to participate in its first National Conductor Preview.