John DeMain - Conductor
John DeMain - Conductor | John DeMain - Conductor
Previously at Portland Opera: A View from the Bridge, 2003 John DeMain is Music Director of the Madison Symphony and Artistic Director of Madison Opera, He is also a sought after guest conductor of orchestras and opera companies around the world. He is a regular guest of The Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, and New York City Opera and has also conducted productions for the State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland, Aspen Music Festival, Baltimore Opera, Bregenz Festival, Cleveland Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee, Glimmerglass Opera,, Edmonton Opera, Italy's Teatro Regio Emilia, Juilliard Opera Center, Lake George Opera, Manitoba Opera, Teatro Belles Artes of Mexico City, Nice Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera de Puerto Rico, Opera Theater of St. Louis, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, and Wexford Festival.On the concert stage, Mr. DeMain has conducted the Adelaide Symphony, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Boston Pops, Chautauqua Symphony, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Denver Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Orchester, National Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Orchestra of Seville, Pacific Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Texas Chamber Orchestra, and Youngstown Symphony. Recent engagements include guest appearances with Los Angeles Opera for Porgy and Bess, A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow, The Washington National Opera for A View from the Bridge, State Opera of South Australia for Dead Man Walking, New York City Opera for Porgy and Bess, Dead Man Walking and Tosca, Glimmerglass Opera for Glassblowers and Little Women, the Festival Euro Mediterraneo in Rome for Candide, Portland Opera for A View from the Bridge, plus productions at Opera Pacific and for the Madison Opera. This past season included Porgy and Bess for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Pacific, plus concerts with the Madison Symphony. The current season includes guest engagements with Vancouver Opera for Nixon in China and the Dayton Philharmonic. Next season, he will return to Portland to conduct Carmina Burana and I Pagliacci. Mr. DeMain served as Music Director and Principal Conductor for the Houston Grand Opera for eighteen years. During his distinguished tenure with that organization, he led a history-making production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, which he subsequently recorded for RCA, and won the Grammy Award, Tony Award, and France's Grand Prix du Disque. He also conducted a number of other notable productions, including the world premieres of Bernstein's A Quiet Place, Floyd's Willie Stark and The Passion of Jonathan Wade, Adams' Nixon in China, Tippet's New Year, and the American premieres of Glass' Akhnaten and Maria de Buenos Aires. From the standard repertoire, he conducted productions of La Traviata by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Salome by Jim Dine, Mefistofele by Robert Carson, A Midsummer Night's Dream by John Copley, and a memorable production of Tosca featuring Eva Marton, Placido Domingo, and Ingvar Wixell. From the repertoire of American musical theater, he conducted acclaimed productions of Treemonisha, Showboat, Hello Dolly, Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Carousel. He also served as Artistic Director of Opera Pacific for ten years. Television audiences have seen Mr. DeMain on PBS's "Great Performances" most recently conducting Porgy and Bess at the New York City Opera, and telecasts of Treemonisha, Willie Stark, An American Christmas from the Houston Grand Opera,and "Live from Lincoln Center" starring Placido Domingo, with whom he has conducted many concerts throughout the world, including the celebrated 1992 "Concert for the Planet Earth.” His recording of Porgy and Bess for RCA Victor was awarded a “Grammy” and remains the standard interpretation of this work. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, John DeMain earned a Bachelor and Master's Degree in Music at the Juilliard School. While in New York, he served as Associate Conductor for the National Education Television Opera Project, Associate Conductor of the Norwalk Symphony, and assistant conductor of the New York City Opera as the second recipient of the Julius Rudel Award. One of the first six American conductors to receive the Exxon/National Endowment for the Arts conducting grant, Mr. DeMain served as Associate Conductor of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of the Texas Opera Theater and as Artistic Director of Opera Omaha. http://www.pinnaclearts.com/artist.php?id=117 |