James Feddeck appointed Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra

03.13.09
James Feddeck

One of the most prominent rising talents of his generation, James Feddeck has been appointed Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. 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. 

From The Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Cleveland Orchestra has settled on a new assistant conductor.

On Tuesday, executive director Gary Hanson confirmed that James Feddeck, a graduate of the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, has been named to the position currently held by Jayce Ogren.

His duties, which include leading the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, conducting education concerts and serving as an understudy to music director Franz Welser-Most, begin in the fall.

At the moment, Feddeck is in his second season as assistant conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. This spring he becomes resident conductor there, holding that title while the group searches for a new music director.

Feddeck comes to Cleveland via Oberlin, where he concentrated in not one or two but four disciplines: conducting, piano, oboe and organ. It was also at Oberlin that Feddeck conducted his first fully-staged opera production, Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte."

Although Feddeck's official duties in Cleveland don't begin until September, his first public performance here will be Aug. 1 at Blossom Music Center, where he'll conduct Mendelssohn's "Fair Melusina" Overture on a program led by David Zinman.

Hanson said Zinman invited Feddeck to share the Cleveland program after the two worked together at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colorado, where Feddeck received a conducting prize last year.