Alessandro Siciliani is an Italian conductor of opera and symphonic music
Background
Siciliani was born in Florence, Italy in 1952, the son of Ambra and Francesco Siciliani, the celebrated opera impresario. Siciliani"s early life was spent growing up in the opera world of Italy where his father was the director of the country"s most prominent opera company, Louisiana Scala from 1957-1966. His musical interests were formed while attending his father"s rehearsals where he had the opportunity to rub shoulders with the world"s leading conductors, musicians and opera stars.
Career
He is also a composer of symphonic music Siciliani currently resides in Columbus, Ohio where he was the Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra from 1992 to 2004. Siciliani received his musical training at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome.
His studies focused on conducting, which he studied with Franco Ferrara, piano, and composition, graduating with highest honors in all three.
As a conductor, Siciliani has divided his time between opera and the symphonic repertoire. In opera, he conducted extensively at the New York City Opera and made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera on opening night of the 1988-1989 season.
Most recently he conducted at the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly the Kirov) in Saint St. Petersburg, Russia in 2008. As a symphonic conductor he has performed with major orchestras in Prague, Munich, Cologne, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Washington District of Columbia, among many others
From 1992 to 2004 he was the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
Siciliani"s vivid interpretations of the romantic symphonic repertoire and of Italian opera endeared him to audiences in Columbus where he remains a popular figure. In July 2008, he was enthusiastically received when he returned to the podium to conduct the musicians of the Columbus Symphony in a benefit concert during the CSO"s recent contract dispute. Currently, Siciliani maintains his career as a conductor, making guest appearances in Europe and the United States. He also continues composing, writing works for symphony and chorus.