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MAX BRAGADO-DARMAN
MAX BRAGADO-DARMAN NAMED MUSIC
DIRECTOR OF THE MONTEREY SYMPHONY
March 17, 2004-Carmel, CA: Spanish conductor Max Bragado-Darman
was named music director of Monterey Symphony by a unanimous
vote of the orchestra's music director search committee. His
duties as music director will begin on July 1, 2004 and include
appearances at three of the performances during the 2004-2005
season and at five of the seven performances in subsequent
seasons. His contract will continue to June 30, 2009. He is the
eleventh music director of the 58-year-old orchestra which
serves the communities of the Monterey Bay, Salinas, Salinas
Valley, Big Sur, and San Benito County. He will succeed Kate
Tamarkin, the orchestra's current music director who is also
director of orchestras at The Catholic University of America in
Washington, D.C. |
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Monterey Symphony Music
Director Designate Max Bragado-Darman and President Alyce Nunes
at the contract signing ceremony on Wednesday, March 17, 2004.
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The search committee was led by Walter J. McCarthy, Jr. of Carmel
(former president of the Monterey Symphony and the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra). Other Association representatives were Marcia Koford and
Michael Hendrickson of Monterey and Joanne Taylor Johnson and John
Phillips of Salinas. Representing the orchestra were tubist Forrest
Byram, principal clarinet Jerome Simas, principal oboist Bennie Cottone,
and principal double bassist Bruce Moyer. Mr. Bragado's contract was
approved by the Executive Committee of the orchestra and will be
presented for ratification by the full board at his regular meeting
later this month.
Alyce Nunes, president of the Monterey Symphony said, "Anyone who
attended Mr. Bragado's performances earlier this week will understand
our decision. His superior musicianship, elegant style, and
determination to do good are an inspiration to all of us. We are
thrilled and look forward to working with him."
For nine years, Max Bragado was music director and conductor of the
Symphony Orchestra of Castile and León, considered one of the
most prestigious orchestras in Spain. Under his |
direction, the orchestra performed for enthusiastic audiences in all the
major cities of Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany. He recorded
with this ensemble many unknown works of the Spanish repertoire, as well
as most of the orchestral works of Turina and Rodrigo which are available on the Naxos
label. He also recorded all of the works for cello and orchestra by
Alberto Ginastera with Mr. Ginastera's wife, Aurora Anatola, as soloist,
as well as many works of the traditional
repertoire.
Max Bragado was music director and conductor of The Louisville Orchestra
from 1995-1998. Under his direction, the orchestra grew in popularity
due to his rapport with audiences and his innovative programming. He has
worked with Alicia de Larrocha, Teresa Berganza, Horatio Gutierrez,
Elmar Oliveira, Anne Akiko Myers, Andre Watts, Angel Romero, Gary
Graffman, Dubravka Tomsic, Oxana Yablonskaya, and Aaron Rosand, among
many others.
As guest conductor, Max Bragado has performed with many symphony
orchestras in the United States including those located in the cities of
Honolulu, San Diego, Nashville, Cleveland, Savannah, Oklahoma City, Fort
Worth, Austin, and the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; the London
Symphony, the National Orchestra of Mexico, most major orchestras of
Spain, and a large number of distinguished European ensembles.
Born in Madrid in 1945 and trained as a pianist, Max Bragado graduated
from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid and received advanced degrees at
Oberlin College and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Mr. Bragado has appeared with the Monterey Symphony on four occasions:
in February 1994 with a Mozart and Franck program; in February 1995 with
a program of Grieg and Elgar with Nino Rota's Divertimento for
Contrabass featuring former music director Clark Suttle as soloist; in
February 1999 conducting Sibelius' Pelleas and Melisande, Beethoven's
Seventh Symphony, and Brahms' Schicksalslied featuring the Symphony
Chorus; and the performances earlier this week of Haydn's Alleluia
Symphony, Sibelius' Second Symphony, and Beethoven's First Piano
Concerto with John O'Conor—the first time these distinguished musicians
have performed
together.
The Monterey Symphony, a fully-professional orchestra, provides triple
performances of a seven-concert subscription series, annual holiday
concerts, and an extensive youth activities program including more than
250 visits to classrooms by musicians which culminates in concerts by
the full orchestra for school children. This May 2004, the orchestra
will present fully staged performances of Prokofiev's Peter and the
Wolf. |
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The concerts will be presented to an audience of nearly 6,000 children
and adults.
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The Monterey Symphony is a not for profit, public benefit corporation,
supported, in part, through the fundraising efforts of the Friends of
the Monterey Symphony and generous grants from the Cultural Council for
Monterey County through funding by the Monterey County Board of
Supervisors, The City of Monterey, The Harden Foundation, and The
McGraw-Hill Foundation; Taylor Farms, CTB/McGraw Hill, Graniterock
Company, Target, The Nunes Company, and many generous individual donors.
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