Carmon DeLeone
Carmon DeLeone, Music Director
Carmon DeLeone, Music Director of The Cincinnati Ballet, The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and The Middletown (OH) Symphony, possesses an impressive list of accomplishments. At New York's Carnegie Hall, he has served as Conductor and Host of the "Family Concert" Series. He has conducted frequent performances in Europe with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra; and has been named the Illinois "Music Director of the Year."
Carmon DeLeone, Music Director of The Cincinnati Ballet, The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and The Middletown (OH) Symphony, possesses an impressive list of accomplishments. At New York's Carnegie Hall, he has served as Conductor and Host of the "Family Concert" Series. He has conducted frequent performances in Europe with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra; and has been named the Illinois "Music Director of the Year."
As a composer, he most recently premiered his FANFARE, FUNK & FANDANGO (An American Dance Set). He has composed many original scores for the ballet, most recently his Princess and the Pea. His best known work, the full-length ballet in two acts, Peter Pan, is enjoying continued praise in major cities from coast to coast, as well as overseas. Maestro DeLeone conducted the debut of Peter Pan in London during a 28-performance run with the Atlanta Ballet at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall. His list of ballet score creations also includes Frevo, Guernica, With Timbrel and Dance Praise His Name, and Ruth Page's Billy Sunday, which was nationally televised in 1983.
During his 12-year tenure as Assistant, and later Resident Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Maestro DeLeone served on its staff with Music Directors Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Walter Susskind, and Erich Kunzel. He was also selected personally by Erich Leinsdorf to participate in an intensive master conducting seminar at Lincoln Center.
Maestro DeLeone's European debut with the Echternach International Festival Orchestra of Luxembourg was greeted with notices such as these: "Carmon DeLeone conducts with supple motions, naturally and without exaggeration. He is a man of great courtesy who does not seem to include the word 'impossible' in his vocabulary" (Le Républicain Lorrain)
"Carmon DeLeone conducted with athletic elegance and strong motivation" (Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung)
Under Mr. DeLeone's leadership, The Illinois Philharmonic was named the "1992 Illinois Orchestra of the Year" -- an honor held in the previous year by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
His diverse talents are demonstrated by the wide range of his musical interests. He has been a French horn soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, playing both the classics and jazz. He is also a much-in-demand drummer, equally at home in the recording studio or leading his own "Studio Big Band" in concert. Since 1991, this versatile musician has also been the host of a very popular weekly radio program called, "Sunday Morning Music Hall," on WRRM-FM in Cincinnati.
Maestro DeLeone earned B.M., B.S., and M.M. degrees from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He served at CCM as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Opera and Music Theatre. During this tenure, he conducted productions of Prince Igor, La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, The Crucible, La Callisto (American Premiere), and The Secret Marriage. He has been presented with the Conservatory's "Distinguished Alumni Award." At Indiana University, he conducted the world premiere and nationally televised production of John Eaton's children's opera, The Lion and Androcles. Maestro DeLeone is also a proud recipient of Cincinnati's most prestigious Post-Corbett Award for excellence in the arts and was featured as
Maestro DeLeone is very pleased to have made his New York conducting debut with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for their season-opening gala performance of Carmina Burana and Revelations at New York's City Center. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and was immediately re-engaged to host and conduct all of the following year's series of "Family Concerts."
