Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya (born 1968) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian conductor. He was formerly

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. He is currently Director of Orchestral Studies at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of th ...

Biography

Family and early life

Harth-Bedoya was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

. His mother was a choral director for the airline Aeroperu. His sister Maria Luisa Harth-Bedoya is a guitarist. Harth-Bedoya studied at the

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He later attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where his teachers included

Otto-Werner Mueller Otto-Werner Mueller (23 June 1926 – 25 February 2016) was a German-born conductor. He was a professor of conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as at the Juilliard School in New York City. Mueller was born in Bensh ...

. He graduated from Juilliard in 1991 with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degree and in 1993 with a Master of Music degree, both in conducting. His other conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier and

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

. In his native Peru, Harth-Bedoya helped to establish the ''Orquesta Filarmonica de Lima'' and the ''Compañía Contemporánea de Opera'', and worked with both ensembles from 1993 to 1998.

Career

In the USA in his early career, Harth-Bedoya worked with the

Norwalk Youth Symphony The Norwalk Youth Symphony (NYS) is an American symphony orchestra for high school aged and younger students. The symphony is based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Established in 1956, the symphony includes students from Connecticut and some parts of N ...

(

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

), with which he made his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

conducting debut. He was music director of the

New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a tuition-free music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Cha ...

from 1993 to 1997. He also worked as a member of the Juilliard conducting faculty and was a staff conductor with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. In 1996, Harth-Bedoya became music director of the Eugene Symphony, and held this post until 2002. In 1998, he became assistant conductor of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, appointed by

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

. Salonen subsequently promoted him to associate conductor in 1999, and Harth-Bedoya held this post through 2004. In 2002, Harth-Bedoya won the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award. In 2000, Harth-Bedoya became Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Following several extensions of his Fort Worth contract, in May 2018, the orchestra announced that Harth-Bedoya is to conclude his Fort Worth music directorship at the end of the 2019-2020 season, and subsequently to take the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra. In the USA, Harth-Bedoya's work in contemporary music has included conducting the July 2005 premiere of the revised version of Golijov's '' Ainadamar'' at Santa Fe Opera, and the world premiere performances of

Jennifer Higdon Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Award for Best Contemp ...

's first opera '' Cold Mountain'', also at Santa Fe Opera, in August 2015. Outside of the USA, Harth-Bedoya was music director of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra from 2000 to 2005. In 2007, he established the multimedia ''Caminos del Inka'' project for promotion of music from South America, which has included orchestral works of several South American composers, such as Osvaldo Golijov, Enrique Iturriaga, Celso Garrido Lecca,

Esteban Benzecry Esteban Benzecry (born 1970) is an Argentine classical composer. Early years Benzecry was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1970 to Argentine parents. He grew up in Argentina where he studied musical composition with Sergio Hualpa and Haydee Gerardi ...

and Jimmy Lopez. Harth-Bedoya first guest-conducted the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) in November 2010. In February 2012, the KORK announced the appointment of Harth-Bedoya as its 7th principal conductor, effective with the 2013-2014 season. He concluded his chief conductorship of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra at the close of the 2019-2020 season. Harth-Bedoya holds a position as Distinguished Guest Professor of Conducting at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discipl ...

Personal life

Harth-Bedoya married his wife Maritza in 2000. The couple have 3 children. The family resides in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Selected recordings

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, Piano concerto in A minor op.16,

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, piano concerto n°2 in G minor, Vadym Kholodenko, piano, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya. CD Harmonia Mundi 2016

References

External links

Miguel Harth-Bedoya official homepage

Harth-Bedoya's management
Schmidt Artists International
Biography from Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra website

Biography of Miguel Harth-Bedoya from Norwegian Radio Orchestra website

Biography from Caminos del Inka website

'Ep. 101: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor'
Interview by Tigran Arakelyan {{DEFAULTSORT:Harth-Bedoya, Miguel Texas classical music Curtis Institute of Music alumni Juilliard School alumni Peruvian conductors (music) Peruvian emigrants to the United States 1968 births Living people 21st-century conductors (music)