“James Conlon, music director of the Cincinnati May Festival since 1979, is the first American to be named principal conductor of Italy’s only radio orchestra, one of most important of its kind,” reports Janelle Gelfand at Tuesday’s (6/9) Cincinnati.com. “The Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai announced Conlon’s appointment on Tuesday in Turin, Italy. Conlon’s new post [will] begin in the 2016-17 season.… Conlon’s contract is through 2020. He will conduct eight weeks of programs annually. His agreement includes tours, recordings and special projects.… The 65-year-old New York native, who last month concluded his 36th season as May Festival music director, has announced that next season will be his last as director of America’s oldest choral festival. This summer, he will also lead his final season as music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony, where he has served since 2005. Since 2006, Conlon has been music director of the Los Angeles Opera.… His new orchestra is the official ensemble of the Italian public broadcasting network Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana). The 117-member orchestra performs in the ‘Arturo Toscanini’ concert hall in Turin, where concerts are broadcast and streamed live over the Italian public broadcasting network.”
Posted June 9, 2015
