green_ernest

J. Ernest Green

J. Ernest Green, often a frequent collaborator with the late Marvin Hamlisch, recently conducted at Wolf Trap. Green is the principal conductor at the McClean Symphony and a cover conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he has worked with such artists as Metropolitan Opera star Denyce Graves, Sir James Galway, Pinchas Zuckerman and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Green also recently conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra.

He is also the artistic director of Live Arts Maryland and the music director of the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Annapolis Chorale. From 1995 to 1998, he was the principal guest conductor of the Boston Aria Guild and has served as the conductor for the Teatro Lirico d’Europa in Paris. Green was the music director for the Young Victorian Theatre Company from 1985 to 2008. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1993 and in 1986 made his international debut conducting performances with the Fundacão Orquestra Sinfonica de Brazil, Associacão Opera de Brasilia and the Orquestra Jovem de Brasilia. From 2004 to 2007, Green served as the music director of the Mozart Festival Opera, where he lead productions of Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute, La Traviata and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

Known for his adventurous and creative programming as he pushes the boundaries of the concert hall, Green has created several “fusion” programs combining standard concert repertoire with popular and contemporary music, which he has lead with orchestras both here and abroad. In addition, he has received acclaim for his concert productions of operas and other stage works, among them Verdi’s La Traviata, Sweeney Todd, and, most recently, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. He also has been engaged to develop similar programs for other orchestras. Mr. Green is currently working on a new concert production of Don Giovanni, which will premiere in 2010. Referring to his creativity and innovation in and beyond the concert hall, The Baltimore Sun recently said, “Green should be commended for his downright prodigious programming.”

Green has appeared with many orchestras including: the Philadelphia Orchestra with Marvin Hamlisch, The National Symphony Orchestra with Denyce Graves for the National Martin Luther King Day concert at the Kennedy Center, The Florida Orchestra, Cumberland Valley Chamber Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, the Sophia Symphony and Varna Symphony (Bulgaria), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional (Santo Domingo), Mesa Symphony, Cumberland Valley Chamber Players and the Trinity Chamber Orchestra (Cleveland). He has toured with the Ballet Arabesque (Bulgaria) the Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Mozart Festival Opera and the Teatro Lirico d’Europa. Green’s opera credits include the Hawaii Opera Theatre, Teatro Lirico d’Europa, Boston Aria Guild, Indiana Opera North, Associacão Opera de Brasilia, Boston Academy of Music and the Young Victorian Theatre Company.

 

In addition to his musical activities, Green is an avid advocate for the arts. He is an active fundraiser for his own company as well as other community organizations. He has served as a music panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council and was recently appointed to serve on its Strategic Planning Committee.

Green lives in Severna Park, Maryland, with his wife, Molly, his son, Alec, and daughter, Ella.