Donald George Johanos (February 10, 1928 – May 29, 2007) was a

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 ...

and music director with the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra tr ...

and the

Honolulu Symphony Orchestra The Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays mainly at the Hawaii Theatre Center ...

. He was recognized for his support of contemporary

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. He performed or conducted on at least 16 recordings. __TOC__

Early life and career

Johanos was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

, in 1928. He attended the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

, receiving an undergraduate degree in

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, a master's degree in

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and a performer's certificate in conducting. After his graduation from Eastman, Johanos played violin for five years in the

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Compan ...

, where he received coaching in conducting from the music director,

Erich Leinsdorf Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...

. In 1958, Johanos won the International Conductors Competition run by the Netherlands Radio Union.Playbillarts "Donald Johanos, Former Music Director of Honolulu Symphony, Dies at 79" June 1, 2007
/ref>

Conductor and music director

In 1962, Johanos became the music director and principal conductor with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. During this period, he conducted the orchestra in several recordings. However, he had problems with the musicians during his stint in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, resulting in his departure in 1970.''Dallas Morning News'', "Donald Johanos: DSO conductor 1962-1970" June 1, 1970
/ref> Johanos moved to the

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

as associate conductor and director of its

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. He became the musical director and conductor of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra in 1979. Johanos helped settle the orchestra down after the retirement of Robert la Marchina. He was also known for championing new music, which caused some frictions with the board. Johanos received an award from the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

in 1991 for "adventuresome programming of contemporary music". While at Honolulu, Johanos recorded with his own and other orchestras. In 1993, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra recorded an album, ''Three Works by Dan Welcher with the Honolulu Symphony'', under Johanos's baton. Welcher dedicated his ''Symphony No. 1'' to Johanos. The 1993–94 season, which would have been Johanos's last with the Honolulu orchestra, was cancelled due to a labor dispute. ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' "Former Honolulu Symphony conductor Donald Johanos, 79" May 31, 2007
/ref> Johanos retired to

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

, where he died in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanos, Donald 1928 births 2007 deaths American male conductors (music) American people of Greek descent Musicians from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Musicians from Iowa 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Music directors of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra