The Kotas Project

JoAnn Falletta is internationally celebrated as a vibrant ambassador for music, an inspiring artistic leader, and a champion of American symphonic music. She serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center.

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Ms. Falletta has guest conducted over a hundred orchestras in North America, and many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

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Upon her appointment as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1999, Maestro Falletta became the first female conductor to lead a major American ensemble. She has since been credited with bringing the BPO to a new level of national and international prominence. The BPO is among the most recorded orchestras for the Naxos label, and is featured on national broadcasts of NPR’s Performance Today, SymphonyCast, and international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union.

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She has served as a Member of the National Council on the Arts, was elected as a member of the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards. A leading recording artist for Naxos, her discs have won two Grammy Awards and ten Grammy nominations.

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A strong advocate and mentor for young professional and student musicians, Maestra Falletkta has guest conducted many of the leading conservatories and university orchestras including Juilliard, Curtis and, Mannes, and serves as a juror for the prestigious Malko Conducting Competition in Denmark. She has led seminars for women conductors for the League of American Orchestras and served in residence at SUNY Potsdam.

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Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School. For more information, visit www.joannfalletta.com

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This biography was provided by Joann Falletta's manager