New England String Orchestra

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826 Boylston Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
phone: (617) 566-0430
fax: (617) 232-5216

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Mission Statement

History

Federico Cortese, Music Director

From the moment of his debut in September 1998, stepping in at short notice to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in place of an ailing Seiji Ozawa, Federico Cortese's work as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony was widely praised. Serving in that position from 1998-2002, Mr. Cortese led the Boston Symphony several times in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. His conducting of Puccini's Madama Butterfly was particuarly heralded. Additionally, he has served as music director of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras since 1999. In 2009, Mr. Cortese was appointed the conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. Other appointments include music director and associate conductor of the Spoleto Festival in Italy, assistant conductor to Daniele Gatti at the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and assistant conductor to Robert Spano at the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Mr. Cortese studied composition and conducting at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and subsequently studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna. In addition, he has been a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. In addition to music, Mr. Cortese studied literature, humanities and law, earning a law degree from La Sapienza University in Rome.

Mr. Cortese joined New England String Ensemble as conductor in September 2005 and was appointed music director in March 2006.