Anne Manson (born 1961, Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Biography

Manson studied viola and piano in her youth. She attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1979 to 1983, with an initial intention to focus on a

pre-medical Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students mostly in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med ...

curriculum. She graduated from Harvard and

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

with a focus on music. She subsequently won a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...

, which she used for music studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(RCM). At the RCM, she studied conducting with

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was an English Conductor (music), conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; ...

. In the UK, Manson founded and served as director of Mecklenburgh Opera from 1988 to 1996. In Europe, Manson became an assistant conductor to

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

at the Vienna State Opera. In 1994, Manson conducted the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

in a performance of ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'', the first female conductor to conduct at the Salzburg Festival. In North America, Manson was music director of the

Kansas City Symphony The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is an American symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The orchestra is resident at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra performs a 42-week season, and is also the accompanying o ...

from 1999 to 2003, the first female music director of the Kansas City Symphony. In 2008, Manson became music director of the

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meas ...

, the first female music director in the orchestra's history. Manson has conducted several commercial recordings, including works of

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. Manson and her husband have two sons.

References

External links

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra page on Anne Manson

Performance schedule

Operabase Operabase is an online global database for audiences and professionals. It lists details on opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers as well as their agents. It was founded in 1996 by English software engineer and opera love ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Anne 1961 births Living people Musicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Music American women conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Classical musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women musicians