Around the Music Festival

American conductor James Conlon has been named “Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana” by Italy’s president. As the conductor of the United States who received ‘Commendatore’, Thomas Schippers of 1975 and Leonard Bernstein of 1989 is the third person. In 2002 he was awarded the Order of the Legion d’Honneur from the Government of France. Conlon was born in New York in 1950. His father is Irish, mother is German and Italian half. After studying the conducting program at the Juilliard School of Music, Musical Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1983 – 1991), Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra and Cologne Opera (1989-2002), Music Director of Opéra National de Paris (1995 – 2004 ). Since 2006 he has served as the music director of Los Angeles Opera, and in Italy he has served as Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra since 2016.

Photo：Mark Lyons