Tiers of Heaven: a pre-concert conversation with new Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director & Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong

Join us for an intimate evening in conversation with the new Santa Rosa Symphony Music Director and Conductor, Francesco Lecce-Chong, at the Sebastopol Regional Library!  This will be an excellent opportunity to meet this incredibly dynamic and passionate musical leader. Francesco will offer a presentation, providing insight and inspiration about the upcoming concert--as well as an opportunity for our community to ask questions at the end.  This event, like all library events, is, of course, free to the public!

"The Santa Rosa Symphony proudly announces Francesco Lecce-Chong as its fifth Musc Director beginning with the 2018-2019 season, "As we welcome Francesco Lecce-Chong, it signals a new era in our organization’s 90-year history," said SRS President and CEO Alan Silow. "Francesco’s talent and engaging exuberance, combined with his rising national stature, are sure to take our orchestra to new heights and strengthen our position as one of the nation’s leading regional symphony orchestras."

A captivating presence on the podium, American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong has garnered acclaim for his dynamic performances, commitment to innovative programming and passion for community engagement. Lecce-Chong begins his post as Music Director and Conductor of the Eugene Symphony, in Eugene, Oregon, in the 2017-2018 season, following in the path of renowned predecessors including Marin Alsop and Giancarlo Guerrero. In addition, he holds the positions of Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Active as a guest conductor, he has appeared with orchestras around the world including the National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and Hong Kong Philharmonic and collaborated with renowned soloists including Renée Fleming and Itzhak Perlman.
 
Lecce-Chong is equally at home in opera, having built his credentials as a staff conductor with Santa Fe Opera. At the Florentine Opera, he conducted Madama Butterfly with the Milwaukee Symphony, where he has been invited to close its 2018-2019 season with Carmina Burana. Additional highlights for the 2018-2019 season include subscription debuts with the Louisville Orchestra and the Louisiana Symphony. In Europe, he has taken part in master classes at the Lucerne Festival under Bernard Haitink, as well as with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich.
 
Also trained as a pianist and composer, Lecce-Chong champions the work of new composers and the need for arts education. As Associate Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) from 2011-2015, he curated and presented the works of both active and lesser-known composers, including two works commissioned by the orchestra, as well as two U.S. premieres. He also helped create the first MSO Composer Institute, providing performance opportunities for young American composers. Demonstrating his commitment to arts education for all ages, Lecce-Chong provided artistic leadership for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s nationally lauded Arts in Community Education program – one of the largest arts integration programs in the country. His dedication to connecting orchestras and communities continues in Pittsburgh where he gives pre-concert talks, conducts concerts for school audiences, and leads specially designed sensory-friendly performances.
 
Lecce-Chong is a native of Boulder, Colorado, where he began conducting at the age of sixteen. He is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music and Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He has worked with many internationally-celebrated conductors, including Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Edo de Waart and Manfred Honeck. 

Lecce-Chong is represented by IMG Artists, one of the premier global artist management firms, representing artists such as vocalist Renée Fleming, violinist Joshua Bell and conductor André Previn. (www.srsymphony.org)

Information about the upcoming concert:

TIERS OF HEAVEN - JANUARY 12, 13, 14  

Saturday, 12 January 2019, 2:00 PM - Discovery Open Rehearsal  

Saturday, 12 January 2019, 7:30 PM

Sunday, 13 January 2019, 3:00 PM

Monday, 14 January 2019, 7:30 PM

Performance at: Weill Hall at the Green Music Center

Conductor: Francesco Lecce-Chong

Performer: Marie Plette, soprano

Program:

TAKEMITSU : Signals from Heaven

MOZART : Symphony No. 40

MAHLER : Symphony No. 4

Link to this program's playlist on Spotify

"Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s bold brass fanfare Signals from Heaven is the fitting contrast to Mozart’s darkest and most turbulent orchestral masterpiece, the tragic Symphony No. 40 in G minor. Soprano Marie Platte’s angelic voice graces Mahler’s luminous Symphony No. 4, a work that juxtaposes the darkness of a dance of death with the celestial portrayal of a child’s innocent view of paradise."