Third Symphony


Biography

Biography

Jonathan McPhee is equally at home as a conductor for the symphony, ballet, and opera.  He is currently Music Director for the Lexington Symphony and maintains an active guest conducting schedule. Having recently completed his tenure of 28 years as Music Director for the Boston Ballet Orchestra, Mr. McPhee has also completed nearly a decade as Music Director for Symphony New Hampshire, having built that orchestra to become the  premiere orchestra serving the entire State.

In recent seasons McPhee has conducted many orchestras at home and abroad including London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The New York City Ballet, and regularly appears as guest conductor for the Houston Ballet.

Some of the world's most distinguished dance companies for which Mr. McPhee has served as conductor include The Royal Ballet (England), Martha Graham Dance Company, Houston Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, the New York City Ballet, Den Norske Ballet in Norway, and The Royal Danish Ballet in Denmark.  In addition to a broad repertoire in the field of dance, Mr. McPhee has conducted pops concerts, musical theatre and operetta. He has also conducted grand opera with Opera Boston, the American Opera Center in New York, and Boston University Opera Institute.

Mr. McPhee was invited to conduct the Nashville Symphony as one of the conductors featured in the 2009 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview by the League of American Orchestras. His collaboration with WCRB classical radio’s “Kids Classical Hour” earned a Gabriel Award in 1998. As Music Director for the Longwood Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2011, he garnered a Met-Life Award for Community Engagement in 2007 from the League of American Orchestras and the State of Massachusetts’ highest award in arts and culture, the Commonwealth Award, in 2011. As Music Director for Lexington Symphony, his Young People’s Program, “Orchestrating Kids Through Classics,” won the 2010 Music Advocate Award presented by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) as well as a NEA Grant in 2013. Lexington Symphony and Mr. McPhee also received an 2012-2013 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music.

Mr. McPhee's works as an arranger and composer are in the repertoires of orchestras and ballet companies around the world. His edition of Stravinsky's “Rite of Spring” is the only authorized reduced orchestration of this work. Mr. McPhee’s compositions and arrangements are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. and Schott Music in Germany.

Mr. McPhee's best-selling recording of “The Nutcracker” with the Boston Ballet Orchestra has sold over 75,000 copies. He has also recorded Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” and Prokofiev's “Romeo & Juliet” with that orchestra (available on iTunes), and Michael Gandolfi’s “Caution to the Wind” on the CRI CD label. Mr. McPhee conducted the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Aarhus Orchestra for the films of Martha Graham’s works telecast by DANCE IN AMERICA that included Samuel Barber’s “Cave of the Heart,” Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Errand into the Maze,” and Edgard Varese’ “Integrales,” “Offrandes,” and “Octandre.”Born in Philadelphia, Mr. McPhee received his L.R.A.M. from the Royal Academy of Music and University of London, and a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, Mr. McPhee was the recipient of a Naumburg Scholarship in Conducting and English Horn. He has studied with Leonard Brain, David Diamond, Thomas Stacy, Rudolf Kempe, Sixten Ehrling, and participated in master classes with Sir Georg Solti and James Levine while at Juilliard.

Testimonials

“Having been in the business for 50 years I naturally take a great interest in other peoples’ work, and I wish to say that in attending orchestral rehearsals and performances conducted by Jonathan I was most impressed at his handling of orchestral players, at his rehearsal technique generally, at his knowledge of the music (which he had obviously prepared with great thoroughness) and at the high standard of his performances.”

—John Lanchbery, O.B.E., Music Director
Royal Ballet Covent Garden
American Ballet Theater
Australian Ballet
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra


“Jonathan has an energy and enthusiasm rarely matched by his peers in this field of endeavor.  He has demonstrated not only a great talent, but also a valuable sensitivity toward the work of the musicians, and the needs of the dancers.  Jonathan has a technical ability to handle difficult pieces, and is capable of eliciting commanding and rich performances from an orchestra.”

—Martha Graham


“As a talented composer and conductor, articulate teacher and innovative collaborator, he is a rare find.”

—Liz Borg, Young Audiences of Massachusetts

Resumé


Experience

Current Positions

2023-2024: CAPE TOWN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (SA), Guest Conductor
2004-Present: LEXINGTON SYMPHONY (MA), Music Director
2022-Present: INDIANA UNIVERSITY, Guest Conductor
2022-Present: TOLEDO SYMPHONY (OHIO), Guest Conductor
2019-Present: ATLANTA BALLET, Guest Conductor
2016-Present: SARASOTA SYMPHONY / SARASOTA BALLET, Guest Conductor

Past Positions

2020-2023: BOSTON UNIVERSITY, Artist in Residence
1992-2023: HOUSTON BALLET, Guest Conductor
2017-2018: NEW YORK CITY BALLET, Guest Conductor
2018: UKRAINE NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA, Guest Conductor
1988-2017: BOSTON BALLET, Music Director
2008-2017: SYMPHONY NEW HAMPSHIRE, Music Director
2012-2014: NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA (Ottawa), Conductor
2004-2011: LONGWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Music Director
2009: HAMBURG PHILHARMONIC (Germany), Guest Conductor
2002-2008: SYMPHONY BY THE SEA, Music Director
1992-2004: AUSTRALIAN BALLET, Conductor
2001-2002: BOSTON BALLET, Artistic Director, Interim
Planned season programs, managed Company budget of $20 million, cleared operating deficit, increased subscriptions, reversed downward trend in sales, ended season with $350,000 operating surplus
1993-1995: NORWEGIAN BALLET, Conductor
1981-1989: NEW YORK CITY BALLET, Conductor
1987-1989: NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA, Conductor
1982-1987: JOFFREY BALLET, Resident Conductor
Administered Joffrey Ballet Orchestra/New York and Joffrey Ballet Orchestra /Los Angeles
1981-1983: DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM, Conductor
1979-1989: MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY, Resident Conductor

Guest Conductor

2010-2011: LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA (Boston, MA)
2007: ORQUESTA SINFONICA de TENERIFE
2007: LITHUANIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA
2005-2007: PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (ME)
2002: OPERA BOSTON
1999-2000: SYMPHONY NOVA SCOTIA
1998: ROYAL DANISH BALLET
1996: BOSTON UNIVERSITY OPERA
1989-1990: BOSTON POPS
1987-1988: ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE  (London)
1987-1988: AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
1982: THE JUILLIARD OPERA at Lincoln Center

Awards


Awards

2013
ASCAP Awards for Adventuresome Programming and Best New Commission by a Young Composer (Sky Macklay), Lexington Symphony

2012
MetLife Award for Lexington Symphony, Presented by the League of American Orchestras

2011
Commonwealth Award, Massachusetts’ highest State award in arts and culture

2009
Bruno Walter Conductor Preview, League of American Orchestras

2007
MetLife Award for Longwood Symphony, Presented by the League of American Orchestras

2005
Partner In the Arts Award from Classical WCRB in recognition of his contributions to the arts community of Boston

1998
Gabriel Award, WCRB Kids’ Classical ​Hour

Additional Experience

1978-1980
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Oboe/English Horn

1977-1980
NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF NEW YORK, Co-Principal Oboe

Education

1999
FORD FOUNDATION - National Arts Stabilization Seminar on Strategic Leadership in a Changing Environment

1975-1979
THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL, B.M.,M.M. - Naumberg Scholar for Conducting and English Horn Student of Sixten Ehrling, Thomas Stacy, David Diamond

1971-1974
ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF LONDON - L.R.A.M, Student of Maurice Miles, Leonard Brain, Rudolf Kempe

Other Engagements

  • Original Music Director: RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL’s Grand Night for the Irish with Irish tenor, Frank Patterson (1988 & 1989)
  • Educational Advocate: lectures on music, dance and theatre to a wide variety of organizations, including lectures to THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY (2004) on “Building Effective Teams,” NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY (2006 & 2007) on “Audience Development Strategies” and “Orchestra Management,” and YALE UNIVERSITY (2005) on ”Managing the Three Stresses in a Nonprofit;” also created the Boston Ballet/Young Audiences collaboration that takes music and dance to schools in and around Massachusetts.
  • Acoustical Society of America’s SABINE CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM at MIT (1994): paper on Orchestra Pit Design/Architectural Acoustics
  • Panelist, Boston Audio Society (MIT) “Concert Hall Acoustics” (2004)
  • Panelist, Audio Engineering Society (NYC) “Concert Hall Acoustics” (2007)
  • Broadcasts: DANCE IN AMERICA (PBS) with AARHUS SYMPHONY (Denmark), DANISH RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Denmark), NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (London)
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