Ricardo Averbach began his professional career as assistant conductor and later Acting Music Director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, the largest professional orchestra in Brazil (126 musicians) in 1988. He has lived in the United States since 1991.

After receiving a Doctoral Degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Gustav Meier, Dr. Averbach has maintained a professional relationship with several leading international orchestras and organizations, including: the Sofia Philharmonic, the Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia State Opera House (Bulgaria), the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Russia), the Orchestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Orquestra Regional do Norte, Esproarte Orchestra (Portugal), Orchestra 2001, Pennsylvania Pro-Musica (United States), Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional del Ecuador, Orquestas Sinfonicas de Guayaquil, Cuenca and Loja (Ecuador), the Orquestra Sinfonica da USP, the Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia, the Banda Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (Brazil), the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (Italy), the Echternach Festival Orchestra (Luxembourg) and others.

Presently Dr. Averbach is Music Director of the Miami University Symphony Orchestra and Oxford Chamber Orchestra, while maintaining a diverse schedule as guest conductor in several countries. In the past, he has been invited to open the International Music Festival of Vila do Conde and the celebrations of the World Day of Music 1995 in Portugal; he conducted one of the opening concerts of the prestigious Teatro Municipal de São Paulo in Brazil; and he was Pro Musica’s 1998 St. Cecilia Honoree in Philadelphia. Recent engagements include conducting the the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in the St. Petersburg Palaces International Music Festival, the Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia in concerts that were televised in Brazil and the Echternach Festival Orchestra in Luxembourg in a live concert later broadcast around Europe.

Before coming to Miami University, he worked for seven years as Music Director/Conductor of the University of Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. While in Philadelphia, he organized international tours to France and China to great acclaim, due to his first performances of Beijing Opera by a western orchestra playing with standard orchestra instruments.

Dr. Averbach’s commitment to contemporary music is reflected in his programming and on his recordings. His discography includes the world premiere recording of the ballet Amazonas and the Fantasy in Three Movements in the Form of a Choros by Villa-Lobos as well as the oratorio “God’s Mystery Unveiled” by the Brazilian composer Paiva Netto, which has already sold more than 500,000 copies. In addition, he gave the Philadelphia premiere of Messiaen’s Un Sourire with Orchestra 2001 to critical acclaim, and his live recording of George Crumb’s A Haunted Landscape was selected by WGBH Radio in Boston for broadcast in over 50 countries.

As a scholar, Dr. Averbach is constantly researching performance practices of various periods and the practical applications of theoretical concepts. His research on Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra resulted in the Time Warner TV broadcast of the program “Leopold Stokowski: Making Music Matter,” which received the Telly Award in 1999. The following year, he conducted the Philadelphia premiere of the Urtext edition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. A significant contribution to the field is his paper “Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto: a Conductor’s Study,” which demonstrates how the emotional experience of performance can be enhanced by an in-depth analysis of the theoretical aspects of a composition. At the moment he is completing the critical edition of “O Martírio dos Insetos” by Villa-Lobos, a work for violin and orchestra to be published by Theodore Presser.

Since the beginning of his career, Dr. Ricardo Averbach has been committed to the education of audiences and young musicians, in the roles of conductor, clinician and adjudicator. In Bulgaria he worked with the Pioneer Philharmonic, a prestigious youth orchestra that received numerous awards, including the Special Prize for Extremely High Artistic and Technical Achievements at the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin. He has also conducted the Orchestra Portuguesa da Juventude, a selective orchestra for the most promising young musicians in Portugal. In 1999 and 2000 he adjudicated the Albert M. Greenfield Competition of the Philadelphia Orchestra for young soloists, and gave workshops for youth orchestras in New York. From 1995 until 2001 he was Music Director of the University of Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. In 2001 he became a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra Board of Education and Community Partnerships. In 2005 he and his orchestra at Miami University were invited to be the official representatives of the state of Ohio in the 2006 festivities celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart in Salzburg, Vienna and Prague. After only three years at Miami University the orchestra has been accepted for the first time in all the conferences in the United States that include college orchestras. The acceptance to these conferences is decided by blind audition and in April 2006 the Miami University Symphony Orchestra performed in the Music Educators National Conference in Salt Lake City.

Born in Brazil, Dr. Averbach completed a degree in Industrial Engineering before receiving a degree in Orchestra, Opera and Choir Conducting at the Bulgaria National Academy of Music in 1988. He worked with Sergiu Celebidache at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival in Germany and with Gennady Rozdestvensky at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy, where he received the Diploma di Merito. In 1992 he received the Maurice Abravanel Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Festival and in 1995 a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestra Conducting from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

Reviews

“It would not be fair to say that he simply ‘conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil.’ Actually, he united with his musicians and with this perfect fusion he directed with respect and mastery, recreating the overture and symphonies in an outstanding way…His work was of an artisan: fine, polished, crafted. His gestures were precise, graphic, descriptive, with no need of a baton, because his way of music making is much more human, cordial, closer to an invitation to play, to listen and to enjoy…His mastery has authority but allows the musicians to flow and breath. He not only directs, but knows how to listen…His versatility in the tempi was so coherent in terms of form and content that he managed to close an imaginary elliptical form that Averbach began to build since the beginning of the performance.”
Reynaldo Cañizares, dean of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory
(Diario Expreso de Guayaquil, Ecuador)

“The 11th concert was brilliant. The knowledge and experience of the conductor Averbach were awaited with great expectations and indeed when he conducted the overture by Rossini the intonation and precision of the orchestra were like a Swiss clock. (For Dvorak’s New World Symphony) the conducting was economic and brilliant. Since the beginning… he showed a deep knowledge of Dvorak’s influences in the musical architecture…He conducted with great ability. Due to his preparation, the orchestra was well organized and balanced…The energy, strength and power of his conducting in the last movement led to a standing ovation.”
Freddy Russo (El Universo, Ecuador, 12/12/2005)

After the intermission the symphony orchestra played…colorfully and with great passion and sophistication; Ricardo Averbach not only showed the swing and energy of Copland’s music, but also its depth.
(RéF, Pizzicato. Germany, 6/2005)

The overall atmosphere of the concert was dominated by the creative emotion of the Brazilian conductor Ricardo Averbach, whose authoritative and strong presence, looking like a movie star, won the hearts of thousands of music admirers…No matter the style [of the compositions] they were loaded with energy and inspired by a sense of freedom…His gestures as a conductor were laconic, yet he was leading the young musicians very confidently as a fiery orator…Even the overture Cenerentola sounded like a virtuosic piece charged with emotional content rather than a light entertaining composition.
Vladimir Ludin (St. Petersburg Nights, 05/24/05)

The head of the ensemble was the remarkable musician Professor Ricardo Averbach. The Russian audience has noticed before this renowned director in his previous performances in this country…One’s heart stopped by the beauty since the very first notes of the Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. Its divine crescendo in the interpretation of Ricardo Averbach made us stop, forget about everything and think only about art and the heroes of the 2nd World War to which the musicians dedicated their performance.
Lessia Petrova (Neva News, 05/18/05)

A concert of great significance…Certain chords were of great beauty and the various timbres and rhythms were well sustained to create a unique atmosphere…the interpretation was feverish due to the purity of the sounds…The very talented conductor Ricardo Averbach is the director of the Miami University Orchestra and the Oxford Chamber Orchestra. His attention directed towards the young musicians was the best assurance possible for a dynamic and intelligent interpretation…This colorful and enjoyable fantasy (Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2) was performed with a fresh interpretation and great precision.
Greg Foetz (Luxemburger Wort, 06/15/04)

Part of the public stayed outside in the last presentation of the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra. The seats of Theater Carlos Cuevas Tamariz were occupied by the audience five minutes before Rodeo…! The receptivity of the public led the orchestra to 108 presentations this year. Most of the time with the presence of conductors like Ricardo Averbach…
Expreso de Guayaquil, 06/24/04

Penn conductor Ricardo Averbach, whose fingers have a spidery elegance, led with a devotional precision Un Sourire (A Smile), an homage to Mozart, whose sustained quiet suggests more sighs than smiles.
Lesley Valdes (Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/24/97)

Averbach proved an economical conductor who moved the orchestra fluently in tempos that complemented the playing and singing. He managed a jauntily clear reading of the fugue in the oratorio’s opening and went on to stress the instruments described in the poem in a way that ... remained in the character of the work.
Daniel Webster (Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/24/98)

…we admired the fine musical sensitivity, grace and delicacy of the conductor, who especially in the lyrical second and fourth movements achieved musical tableaux and contemplativeness of the fresh Norwegian nature. Excellent was the versatile dynamic range of the third movement, as well as the perfectly correct phrasing… Averbach demonstrated versatile manual technique, rich emotionality, rhythmic stability and tonal nuances.
Lada Brashanova (Musical Horizons No. 5, 2003, Bulgaria)

Ricardo Averbach succeeded in emphasizing the lyricism, embellishments and rhythmic pulsation in a very specific way. His feeling for the inner motion in Mozart’s music led the orchestra and soloists into an energetic and nuance-rich interpretation....The warm orchestra sonorities and attention to stylistic details on the part of the conductor were remarkable.
Boyanka Arnaudova (Opera News, Bulgaria, June/00)

The orchestra excelled in its sonic achievements, obedient to the command of Maestro Averbach.
J. Jota de Moraes (O Estado de S. Paulo - Brazil, 9/5/91)

Ricardo Averbach reached the essence of Viennese Classicism; a Mozartean atmosphere grabbed the audience and embraced the concert hall.
Dr. Peter Shopov (Musica Viva, Bulgaria, September/00)




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