The 2023-24 season was one of the most exciting and active of my career. Even before concluding the 2022-23 season, I was steeped in preparation for the 2023 Mahler Competition. The Mahler Competition is held every three years and is hosted by the incredible Bamberger Symphoniker. Representing USA in this competition was a life-altering experience that brought about positive developments in my career, but more importantly in my growth as an artist. Thank you to the jury, the orchestra, and the entire staff of the Bamberger Symphoniker for facilitating such a flawlessly run competition.
After being awarded the first-ever Special Prize for the Best Performance of the Contemporary Piece, I was asked to conduct the world premiere of Con Moto by Austrian composer Bernd Richard Deutsch, during the closing concert of the competition. It was an honor to share the stage with the Bamberger Symphoniker, Thomas Hampson, and the very deserving first-prize winner Giuseppe Mengoli. Please experience this exciting new work as it was broadcast on Medici TV by clicking here!
Two weeks after returning stateside, I also returned to the Rochester Philharmonic as a guest conductor on their summer series, leading music by John Williams, Gershwin, Jessie Montgomery, Copland, and Tchaikovsky. The performance took place during a picturesque sunset only western New York could provide.
The 23-24 season officially began at the Jacksonville Symphony, my home orchestra, where I have been Associate Conductor since the 22-23 season. I kicked off the first performance of the season with a program of Tchaikovsky’s tone poem to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, followed by Beethoven’s jovial Symphony No. 7. The week after, we switched gears to illuminate John William’s score to E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial, live to picture. What a thrill it was to literally take flight with an entire orchestra and two sold-out audiences.
One of my favorite projects of the season was a new ballet in collaboration with the Florida Ballet based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Roberto Forleo, Florida Ballet Artistic Director and dear friend of mine, created a new, two-act storyline with three tableaux, which tells an new version of the tale that is wrought with intense romantic tension between the three main characters: Johnathan Harker, his fiancé Mina, and Count Dracula himself. We curated music by Schubert; Johann Strauss and Richard Strauss; and the final tableau featured movements from Brahms’ Third and Fourth Symphonies.
It was an honor to return to my alma mater the Eastman School of Music to guest conduct the Eastman Wind Ensemble, whose Music Director Dr. Mark Davis Scatterday is my longtime mentor. Without Mark’s guidance and support during my Eastman days and beyond, I would probably not be on this journey in conducting. Thus, I was moved when he invited me to guest conduct his ensemble - one of the best of its kind in the world - on a monumental work: Messiaen’s Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. You can check out the full performance below - or if you want just a taste of the birdsong, click here.
After Thanksgiving, I returned to the Jacksonville Symphony to make my subscription debut! I’m so very fortunate to be artistically supported by this great organization. I was encouraged to curate a fantastic program filled with music that I love. Erich Korngold’s Schauspiel Overture opened the concert, and pianist virtuoso Joyce Yang took our breath away with Samuel Barber’s genius Piano Concerto (especially the show-stopping 5/8 Finale!). After intermission, Symphony No. 4 of Tchaikovsky brought the very best out of the orchestra. Shout-out to our principal oboe Eric Olson for his beautiful solo in the second movement.
After the holidays, I opened the New Year with a recording project with the University of Chicago’s Grossman Ensemble (literally, the project began on January 2nd!!!). Composer Sean Shepherd personally invited me to conduct the first commercial recording of his massive Concerto for Ensemble, which was commissioned and premiered by Ensemble intercontemporain in 2014. The three-day rehearsal and recording process was intense (!) but incredibly rewarding. Working with musicians from the Grossman Ensemble, supplemented by players from Ensemble dal niente, the National Symphony, LA Philharmonic, and the Ensemble Modern Academy was an honor - they could play anything! (Album and video forthcoming)
The New York Philharmonic brought me in as an assistant/cover conductor for two subscription programs. I first assisted Maestro Santtu-Matias Rouvali on a program featuring Dvorak’s 7th Symphony. During one of the rehearsals, Santtu asked me to come up to the podium to conduct for a few minutes while he checked the balance. It was thrilling to conduct an orchestra of such historic importance and artistic sensitivity! I'm very glad to be coming back next season.
Later in the season, I returned to assist Maestro Thomas Søndergård, Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra. The program featured the U.S. premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s 2019 piece "Keyframes for a Hippogriff — Musical Calligrams" for Countertenor, Children's Choir, and Orchestra. In addition to a full orchestra, the score calls for two synthesizers, an electric guitar, and a saxophone. It was an elaborate task to balance all of these sounds, some acoustic and some amplified. Working with Olga, our two synthesizer players, and the electric guitarist, I conducted a “sectional” to balance the various synth patches. My passion for new music was fully activated during this week!
I was absolutely blown away by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and their artistic director Dianne Berkun Menaker. The students flawlessly executed the atonal and fragmented choral interjections. Shoutout to my “cover-buddy” Rudy Giron, who was on deck to fill in on the solo countertenor role, if needed. Bravo to countertenor soloist Andrew Watts for perfectly executing the demanding part. He has hands down the most powerful countertenor voice I have ever heard live. Not a stitch of amplification was needed!
My final season highlight brings me back to Jacksonville, where I collaborated with my dear friend Adelya Nartadjieva, Concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony. We performed both the Vivaldi and Piazzolla versions of The Four Seasons on a back-to-back program with no intermission. Luckily, there was still time for her to make a dress change! I love working with Adelya because not only is she an incredible musician and violinist, but also a thoughtful collaborator. Her leadership has greatly contributed to the orchestra’s continued elevation in artistic level.
Thank you for reviewing my season with me! I am so excited to share my 2024-25 season announcement along with a launch of my new website in the near future.
Bring the Joy!
Kevin Fitzgerald
