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Mr. Confessore assumed the newly-created position of Principal Pops Conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra with the 2008-09 Season. He joined the ASO as its Assistant Conductor in 2000 and was promoted to Associate Conductor in 2001 and Resident Conductor in 2004. His appearances on the ASO’s Masterworks series have garnered rave reviews from the Birmingham News for his “special talent for drawing the broadly lyrical out of his orchestra.” He has led the orchestra in a wide variety of performances throughout the state of Alabama.
Mr. Confessore’s schedule as a guest conductor has included appearances with the Houston Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his international debut in June of 2004, conducting the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania, returning for additional performances in June of 2009. In December of 2010, he appeared as a guest conductor of Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional at EPCOT – a production featuring a full orchestra, 300-voice choir and celebrity narrators including Whoopi Goldberg, John O’Hurley, Steven Curtis Chapman and Thomas Gibson.
During the 1999-2000 Season, Mr. Confessore served as Interim Education and Outreach Conductor of the Houston Symphony, conducting multiple performances on the orchestra’s Lollipops, Discovery, and First Concerts series, as well as other community outreach concerts.
From 1992-2000 Mr. Confessore served as Associate Conductor of the Florida West Coast Symphony in Sarasota. From 1990-1995 he served as Education Director of the Florida West Coast Symphony, administering one of the most intensive orchestral education programs in the country.
Hailed by the Birmingham News as a leader with “firm vision and confidence,” Christopher Confessore has accompanied a distinguished list of artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Glenn Dicterow and Jon Nakamatsu. As a Pops conductor, he has appeared with a diverse group of performers, including Grammy Award winners Art Garfunkel, Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Marvin Hamlisch, Chris Botti, Peabo Bryson, Charlie Daniels, Larry Gatlin and Nanci Griffith, and Tony Award winners Debbie Gravitte and Michael Maguire. In April of 2005, music columnist Mary Colurso of The Birmingham News remarked “Anyone who regards the symphony as stuffy and elitist hasn’t been to a SuperPops show when Confessore’s in charge. He exudes nice-guy appeal on stage, along with real warmth, a sense of humor and smarts to spare.”
Mr. Confessore has studied with internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin and has attended workshops and seminars led by Gustav Meier, Harold Farberman, and Lawrence Leighton Smith. He holds a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Southern California and the Bachelor of Music degree in Bassoon Performance from Florida State University. |