Biography

James Feddeck studied oboe, piano, organ, and conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While there, he served as music director and conductor of a production of Così fan tutte. In 2010 he was recognized by Oberlin as the first recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. He studied with David Zinman at the Aspen Music Festival and School from 2006 to 2008, and in 2009 he served as assistant conductor. He received the Aspen Conducting Prize in 2008, having previously been awarded the Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize in 2007. He was the unanimous winner of the Sixth Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition and, at twenty-two, its youngest participant. In addition to receiving the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award in 2013, Mr. Feddeck was previously a recipient of a Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation US. He is also an accomplished organist, and has performed recitals throughout Europe and North America. As assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, he conducted subscription concerts at Severance Hall and the Blossom Music Festival, and also stepped in for Music Director Franz Welser-Möst in a fully-staged production of Don Giovanni and in performances of Carmina burana.

James Feddeck’s 2014-15 season in North America includes debuts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Vancouver and Milwaukee symphonies, as well as a return to the Aspen Music Festival. He also conducts a MusicNOW concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he will return for subscription concerts in future seasons. European engagements this season include debuts with the Orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin (in collaboration with the Béjart Ballet Company, and the Bilkent Symphony (Turkey), and Tampere Philharmonic (Finland).

Last season, Mr. Feddeck made a number of important debuts, including appearances with the Houston Symphony, the Rochester and Naples philharmonics, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has also appeared as guest conductor with orchestras including the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Indianapolis, Atlanta, Saint Louis, and San Diego symphonies, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra, for the Ballet Across America Festival. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut with these performances.

(March 2015)