James Feddeck is quickly gaining recognition as one of the most prominent rising talents of his generation.  He is currently in his second season as Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony, and will assume the position of Resident Conductor in May of 2009.  As Resident Conductor, a title he will hold while the orchestra searches for a new Music Director, he will take on increased artistic responsibility, conducting more subscription concerts and participating more actively in the orchestra's expanding education and outreach activities. 

An alumnus of the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, Mr. Feddeck was nominated for the Glimmerglass Opera Conducting Prize in 2006; awarded the Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize in 2007; and received the Aspen Conducting Prize in 2008. He will return to Aspen as Assistant Conductor in the summer of 2009, and will also make his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival at the invitation of David Zinman.  In addition, he was the unanimous winner of the Sixth Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition and, at twenty-two, its youngest participant.

Mr. Feddeck's musical training and background is unusually diverse and multifaceted. He holds the distinction of having been admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in four areas: piano, oboe, organ, and conducting. While at Oberlin, he was music director and conductor of his first fully staged operatic production, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. Following undergraduate and graduate degrees from Oberlin, he continued his studies in conducting at the University of Michigan and as a conducting fellow for three summers at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School where he studied with Murry Sidlin and David Zinman. At Aspen, he participated in conducting master classes of operatic scenes with Patrick Summers, Harry Bicket, and James Conlon.

An accomplished organist, Mr. Feddeck has performed recitals throughout Europe and North America and has won competitions sponsored by the American Guild of Organists. As an oboist, he has taken a special interest in new music, having commissioned and premiered works including Daniel Pinkham's Oboe Quartet.