Currently in his fourth season as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, James Feddeck made his debut with the orchestra in August 2009 at the Blossom Music Festival. In March 2011, he replaced Franz Welser-Möst at the last minute to conduct the Zürich Opera's staged production of Mozart's
Don Giovanni at Severance Hall. He has also directed a number of new community initiatives including Cleveland Orchestra collaborative performances with the Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Play House, and he makes his subscription debut in fall of 2012.
In addition to his duties as Assistant Conductor, Mr. Feddeck serves as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. In June 2012, he led the Youth Orchestra on its first-ever international tour, with critically acclaimed performances in the musical capitals of Vienna, Prague, and Salzburg.
In the United States, Mr. Feddeck has conducted the orchestras of Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte (with soloist Yo-Yo Ma), Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Memphis, Omaha, St. Louis, San Diego, and Toledo; led performances with the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra (Ballet Across America Festival); and appeared several times at the and Aspen Music Festival, most recently in 2012. Upcoming engagements include his Canadian debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Quèbec, his first subscription concerts with the Atlanta Symphony and another return to Aspen, leading one its main orchestras.
Before his appointment in Cleveland, Mr. Feddeck was Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. He was a conducting fellow for three summers at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School, received the Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize in 2007 and the Aspen Conducting Prize in 2008, which led to a fourth year at the festival, as Assistant Conductor. He was also the unanimous winner of the Sixth Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition and, at twenty-two, its youngest participant. Mr. Feddeck is also the recipient of a Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S.
Mr. Feddeck's musical training and background is unusually diverse and multifaceted. He was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in four areas —piano, oboe, organ and conducting, a rare distinction. At Oberlin, he conducted his first fully staged operatic production, Mozart's
Cosi fan tutte. After receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees from Oberlin, he continued his conducting studies at the University of Michigan and at Aspen, where he was a protègè of David Zinman and participated in opera scene master classes with Patrick Summers, Harry Bicket and James Conlon. In April 2010 Mr. Feddeck took part in a master class with Mr. Zinman in Zürich, Switzerland that culminated in a performance (and his debut) with the Tonhalle Orchestra.
Mr. Feddeck has performed organ recitals throughout Europe and North America, won competitions sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, and has been featured on
Pipedreams, a nationally syndicated radio program. An advocate of new music, he has commissioned and premiered works for oboe, including Daniel Pinkham's Oboe Quartet. In 2010 he was recognized by Oberlin as the first recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for professional achievement and contributions to society.
Last updated October 2012. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
