Jason Chris Tramm (born December 29, 1974) is an American

music conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties o ...

and Director of Choral Activities at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

. He currently holds the position of artistic director and Principal Conductor at MidAtlantic Opera, where he debuted at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

's Stern Auditorium in 2015, with a program titled ''A Prayer for Peace''. He also currently resides as the executive director of the Light Opera of New Jersey, the music director of the Putnam Chorale, and music director of the Taghkanic Chorale His performance repertoire, featuring compositions by Bernstein,

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, and

Saygun Ahmet Adnan Saygun (; 7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer, musicologist and writer on music. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a maste ...

, received standing ovation, prompting plans for two annual performances at Carnegie Hall. Previously, he served as the artistic director of the

New Jersey State Opera The New Jersey State Opera is an opera company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was established in 1964 as the Opera Theater of Westfield, and shortly after opening Alfredo Silipigni was hired as Artistic Director An artistic director is the e ...

from 2008 to 2012, collaborating with opera voices such as

Samuel Ramey Samuel Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique which enabled him to sing the mu ...

Vladimir Galouzine Vladimir Vasilyevich Galouzine (, ''Vladimir Galuzin'', ) is a Russian tenor. He has performed in such Russian operas as '' The Queen of Spades'', '' Boris Godunov'' and '' Khovanshchina'' and has performed the lead tenor roles in Italian operas ...

, and Angela Brown. His work with the opera garnered

regional Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

recognition for the 2009 HDTV broadcast of "Verdi Requiem: Live from Ocean Grove" on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

affiliate NJN.

Early life and music education

Tramm was born on December 29, 1974, to Joan Anne Tramm (née Weininger) and John Carl Tramm in

Nanuet, New York Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west of West Nyack. ...

. His passion for music manifested at a young age when he sang as a soprano soloist at Saint Thomas Church in

West Nyack, NY West Nyack is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Blauvelt, east of Nanuet, southwest of Valley Cottage, southeast of Bardonia, and west of Central Nya ...

. Tramm's musical training encompassed various instruments, including voice, piano, and viola. He pursued his formal music education at the Crane School and the

Hartt School The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since it ...

, earning degrees in music. Tramm furthered his studies in conducting, obtaining a doctoral degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, where he was honored with the Presidential Fellowship.

Music career

Tramm's career extends to opera,

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, and choral masterworks, with performances taking place in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, Italy,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and across the United States. During the summer months since 2008, Tramm has held the position of Director of Music in Residence at the

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association Ocean Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.Great Auditorium (

Ocean Grove, NJ Ocean Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.Gordon Turk Gordon Turk (born 1949) is an American concert organist. He has played throughout the United States, made two concert tours in Japan, and performed frequently in Europe, including Ukraine and Russia, both as solo organist and with orchestra. Ea ...

, Organist. Tramm has appeared on two

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

broadcasts with organist

Gordon Turk Gordon Turk (born 1949) is an American concert organist. He has played throughout the United States, made two concert tours in Japan, and performed frequently in Europe, including Ukraine and Russia, both as solo organist and with orchestra. Ea ...

and a large orchestra. Tramm has directed Coro Lirico, the 60-voice amateur chorus based in Morris County, for four years. He curated a program at

to pay homage to his mentor, the late Alfredo Silipigni, a renowned conductor who had previously graced the Seton Hall stage. The event featured a new generation of opera talents participating in the Grand Finals Concert of the Alfredo Silipigni International Vocal Competition at the Jubilee Auditorium. Additionally, Tramm led the University Chamber Choir in a performance at the annual Evening of Roses fundraiser for the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies. In 2020, amidst the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic's disruption of live events, Tramm, along with his son Quinton Tramm, initiated the YouTube podcast ''Music Matters with Jason Tramm''. In September, 2023 Tramm and pianist Kariné Poghosyan conducted the MidAtlantic Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 and the Piano Concerto in D-flat Major, Op.38 of

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

in honor of their births. This performance took place at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in

Manhattan, NY Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entirely ...

Tramm is known for his work at

, in 2006, mentored by Alfredo Silipigni. He assumed leadership of the company in 2008. During his time he orchestrate the staging of

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

Newark Symphony Hall Newark Symphony Hall is a performing arts center located at 1020 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Built in 1925, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was known for many years as The Mosque Theater, and is the f ...

. Recognizing the need to broaden the opera's audience base, Tramm strategically chose "

" for its universal themes and crossover appeal.

Pedagogy

In addition to his conducting roles, Tramm is an accomplished educator and mentor, serving as Director of Choral and Orchestral Activities at

since 2011. He was named the 2017 University Faculty Teacher of the Year In 2003, he received the Rising Star Award from the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association, joining artists like Renee Fleming and

Stephanie Blythe Stephanie Blythe (born 1970) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has perfo ...

. He has conducted operatic and symphonic performances across Europe, including Italy, Romania, Albania, and Hungary, where he recorded an album of rare French operatic arias with the Szeged Symphony. Tramm's performances have received critical acclaim from Symphony Magazine, which named him "Conductor to Watch," and the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

, which described him as filled with Italianate passion.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tramm, Jason 1974 births American male composers Choral music Choral composers 21st-century American composers Living people American choral conductors American male conductors (music) Crane School of Music alumni Rutgers University alumni Musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians People from Rockland County, New York Seton Hall University faculty