Conductor Christian Badea will be in residence on campus Sept. 11-15. His visit is hosted by Mark Cedel of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
The world-renowned symphony and opera maestro will guest conduct the UGA Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of the Second Thursday Scholarship Series (see story at left) at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Hugh Hodgson Music Hall. The concert will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth and the 100th anniversary of Shostakovich’s birth.
Every year the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts brings to campus for five- or nine-day visits eminent scholars and artists from the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
While on campus they engage in a range of activities: delivering public lectures, speaking to graduate and undergraduate classes, giving workshops and performances and meeting with faculty and students. Visitors who stay in Brumby Hall also spend an evening with students, introducing them to their field of expertise through scholarly presentations or demonstrations.
Badea has received exceptional acclaim throughout his career, which has included engagements in the foremost concert halls and opera houses of Europe, North America and Asia. His repertoire ranges from the works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to 21st century composers.
Throughout the years he’s collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, YoYo Ma and Placido Domingo. He has guest conducted the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony in London, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra, the Amsterdam Philharmonic and the Radio Philharmonic in Holland. He’s also had stints in the U.S., conducting the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., the Baltimore Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Equally dividing his time between symphony and opera conducting, Badea has appeared as a frequent guest in the major opera houses of the world.
Badea received his initial training in violin and composition at the Bucharest Conservatory and studied conducting in Brussels, at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Herbert von Karjan and at Juilliard.
