Guest ArtistsGeorge Stelluto, conductor

One of America’s most versatile conductors, George Stelluto has performed in Europe, Asia, South America and North America – including more than 20 U.S. states. His recent conducting appearances include the Ravinia Festival, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Orquestra Jovem do Estado Sao Paulo, Pasadena Symphony Orchestra, Nordwestduetsche Philharmonie and the Chicago Philharmonic. Other guest appearances include: The Juilliard Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica del Ecuador, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, Transylvania State Philharmonic (Romania), ICE and Juilliard’s “Beyond the Machine” and AXIOM.

From Bernstein in Sao Paulo, Barber in Kiev and Beethoven in Pasadena to Brahms in New York and Ramsey Lewis in Peoria, Mr. Stelluto’s performances receive both public and critical acclaim. The Philadelphia Inquirer applauded his performance of La La Land: Live in Concert last season. His Pasadena Symphony Orchestra debut garnered lauds from four LA area newspapers, including a Los Angeles Times article entitled “A Welcome Guest – Could He Become a Fixture Here?” The New York Times wrote of his performance of “Opus Jazz”: “Robert Prince’s score swings and slinks. The Juilliard Orchestra, with members of Juilliard Dance and Jazz, conducted by George Stelluto, sounded sharp!” Call Back Magazine wrote of The Marriage of Figaro: “Vocally, musically, and dramatically it didn’t miss a beat…Stelluto conducted with taste, balance, and firm control of players and singers.”

As music director of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, associate conductor of the Ravinia Festival and a frequent guest conductor, Mr. Stelluto has collaborated with varied artists such as Ramsey Lewis, Hilary Hahn, Sarah Chang, Edgar Meyer, Sylvia McNair, Time for Three, Jamie Bernstein and Isaac Mizrahi, as well as many young soloists including Irfan Tengku, Harmony Zhu and Charles Yang. His numerous contemporary premieres include works by Virko Baley, Huang Ruo, Paul Desenne and Armand Ranjbaran. At the Kiev International Music Festival, he gave the Ukrainian premieres of Samuel Barber’s First and Second Essay for Orchestra. His orchestral reduction of Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten was premiered by the Los Angeles Opera in 2010 and performed by Opera Lyon (France) in 2015. He has performed at many summer festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, Peter Britt, Focus, Kiev International and Ukrainian Summer.

Now in his eighth season as music director of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Stelluto recently celebrated the PSO’s 120th Anniversary with its Ravinia Festival debut. Through innovative programming, musical collaborations, artist residencies and national recognition for the orchestra, the PSO is leading a cultural renaissance in the region. Stelluto also founded the Illinois New Music Festival in 2010 and, from 1998-2007, was music director of the Las Vegas Music Festival.

George Stelluto holds Juilliard’s first Artist Diploma Degree in conducting, two Master’s Degrees (violin and conducting) from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor’s in violin from West Virginia University.