204:, and in 1988 he was appointed Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony, where he conducted Classics, Mainly Mozart, Community Concerts and Symphony Pops concerts. Concurrently, in 1997 he was appointed Conductor of the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, with which he conducted more than twenty performances each season, including the annual Nutcracker production. Meena was appointed General Director & Principal Conductor of
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194:, where he was Associate Conductor. His apprentice years in Pittsburgh included work as Music Director of the Three Rivers Training Orchestra and McKeesport Symphony, and director of the Pennsylvania Opera Festival, which has since become the Pittsburgh Opera young artist program. In 1986 he was appointed Artistic Director of
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Then it occurred to me that I hadn't seen Meena turn any pages. I leaned slightly forward to see if what I thought was indeed true. He was conducting this lengthy work by memory. Once I had that realization, I found it hard to take my eyes away from Meena. He was confidently and effortlessly giving
224:, Washington Opera as well as the opera companies in Modena (Italy), Livorno (Italy), Lucca (Italy), Ravenna (Italy), Pisa (Italy), Phoenix, Sarasota, and Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg (Canada) where he led the world premiere performances of
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He has also maintained an active career as guest conductor of opera and concerts in the United States and abroad, having conducted the New York City Opera, the
National Symphony ROC, the KBS Symphony Orchestra (Seoul), the
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in conducting in 1978. When Page became
Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in September 1979, he hired Meena as his assistant. He also studied conducting with Thomas Mihalak, who was Music Director of the
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Gorgeous woodwind playing and powerful brass passages marked the performance, which Meena led from memory, conducting with roundhouse gestures from his right hand and much less action from his left.
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every tempo, cue, dynamic and often even mouthing the words with the singers. I was so fascinated by his conducting, it took the devil himself to draw my attention back to the stage.
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I memorize all my scores, this is how I was taught. Every score is memorized, and usually – and this is what has been hard for me – I memorize the libretto first.
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Conservatory of Music, receiving his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973, and then taught music for three years in Cleveland's high schools as well as singing in the
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before returning to
Cleveland when his father became pastor of the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church there. Meena did his undergraduate studies at
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who had emigrated to
Cleveland and with whom Meena also studied violin. Meena is also known for conducting completely from memory.
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for six seasons; the opera conductor
Rudolph Fellner; and Boris Halip, a former associate concertmaster and conductor of the
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466:"Review: "Duvernoy Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 3 (Koch International Classics)"
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Chorus. He studied conducting with Robert Page, the chorus's
Director and a professor at
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Charles
Duvernoy: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 3 (world premiere recording),
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in Ohio, since 2000 he has been the
General Director and Principal Conductor of
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interview and discussion broadcast on the program, Charlotte Talks (Radio
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administrator. Formerly the
General Director and Principal Conductor of
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Audio of James Meena conducting a concert of romantic songs and arias
277:– Collaborative Arts Chamber Orchestra, James Meena (conductor).
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Royal Artists Management (Italy), Uzan International Artist (US).
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priest and musician who studied composition and wrote three
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216:, Orchestra Regionale Toscana (Italy) and the orchestra of
428:. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Manitoba Opera. 2007. Archived from
372:"Review: Opera Carolina's Faust is a devil of a good time"
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Meena made his professional debut in 1980, conducting the
452:"NPR World of Opera to Broadcast Opera Carolina's Faust"
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Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni
184:. His professional opera debut was in 1983 (Mozart’s
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Arab-Americans & Their Communities of Cleveland
178:and Mendelssohn Choir in performances of Haydn’s
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374:. Salisbury, North Carolina: Salisbury Post.
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220:in Sicily, as well as L’Opera de Montreal,
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552:Video with James Meena talking about opera
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87:(born 1951) is an American conductor and
604:21st-century American conductors (music)
133:into English. He spent his childhood in
115:, the son of V. Rev. James C. Meena an
35:James Meena conducting in December 2007
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407:Kaczmarczyk, Jeffrey (28 March 2015).
300:Who's Who in American Music: Classical
252:have been recorded and broadcast over
123:as well as arranging and translating
464:Headington, Christopher (July 1995).
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520:"Interview with Maestro James Meena"
510:"Innovative Opera Carolina Presents
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391:"Interview with Maestro James Meena"
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324:, p. 217. Cleveland State University
302:, Volume 2, p. 395. R.R. Bowker Co.
298:Press, Jaques Cattell (ed.) (1985).
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516:, North Carolina Arts Council, 2010
23:Artistic Director of Opera Carolina
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454:. Davidson, North Carolina: WDAV.
426:"Manitoba Opera Transit of Venus"
338:"Concert Winds Up Opera Workshop"
62:Opera conductor and Administrator
574:American male conductors (music)
494:from the February 2008 issue of
198:, making his company debut with
503:from the October 2010 issue of
492:"Conversation with James Meena"
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370:Hall, Sarah (23 October 2008).
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336:Apone, Carl (12 August 1982).
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130:Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
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560:broadcast on News 14 Carolina
450:Gray, Lisa (25 August 2010).
411:. Michigan Live Media Group.
389:Opera Lively (2 March 2012).
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269:: Première Sonate in B flat,
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501:"Q & A With James Meena"
318:Macron, Mary Haddad (1979).
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609:21st-century male musicians
279:Koch International Classics
44:1951 (age 72–73)
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151:Carnegie Mellon University
53:Carnegie Mellon University
153:where Meena received his
101:Charlotte, North Carolina
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359:Biography of James Meena
107:Early life and education
579:Music directors (opera)
486:Articles and interviews
143:Baldwin Wallace College
218:Teatro Massimo Bellini
558:James Meena Interview
254:National Public Radio
554:on operacarolina.org
522:, Opera Lively, 2012
343:The Pittsburgh Press
231:The Transit of Venus
548:on worldofopera.org
471:Gramophone Magazine
275:Tema con variazioni
256:'s World of Opera.
176:Pittsburgh Symphony
160:New Jersey Symphony
155:Master of Fine Arts
117:Antiochian Orthodox
542:), 11 January 2012
505:Charlotte Magazine
496:Charlotte Magazine
246:and Tchaikovsky’s
214:Cairo Philharmonic
147:Cleveland Symphony
111:Meena was born in
533:Opera Carolina's
267:François Devienne
170:Conducting career
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67:Years active
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70:1980–present
589:1951 births
281:CD 37186-2.
240:, Gounod’s
135:Los Angeles
125:Tchaikovsky
85:James Meena
20:James Meena
568:Categories
436:2015-04-06
286:References
260:Recordings
139:Pittsburgh
208:in 2000.
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190:) with
121:hymnals
512:Carmen
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201:Carmen
527:Media
243:Faust
99:, in
89:opera
540:WFAE
304:ISBN
137:and
41:Born
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329:^
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