Carlo Ponti (conductor)

Carlo Ponti (born 29 December 1968) is an Italian orchestral conductor working in the United States. He is the son of late film producer Carlo Ponti, Sr. and Italian movie star Sophia Loren and he is the older brother of film director Edoardo Ponti.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Ponti worked at the Conductor's Institute in Connecticut, under the direction of Harold Farberman from 1994–96, worked with Mehli Mehta, Zubin Mehta and Andrey Boreyko in Los Angeles from 1997 to 1999 and furthered his musical studies in Austria at the Vienna Musikhochschule from 1999 to 2001 under Leopold Hager and Erwin Acel.

He has guest conducted internationally, was the recipient of various awards for fostering the growth of young musical talent through music education. Ponti has been associate conductor of the Russian National Orchestra since 2000 and was music director and principal conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony from 2001-12. In 2013 he founded the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, an ensemble emphasizing music's educational value of which he is artistic and music director. The Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra is currently performing its second concert season (2016-2017) at the Theatre Raymond Kabbaz in Los Angeles, California.

Ponti has released two recordings with the Russian National Orchestra on the Pentatone label and his work has been profiled by ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, PBS, Fox News, Leonard Lopate, Dennis Miller, Symphony Magazine and the Associated Press. His performances have also been broadcast on public radio stations across the United States by American Public Media's Performance Today and America's Music Festivals programs.

Maestro Carlo Ponti married violinist Andrea Mészáros in Budapest, Hungary on September 18, 2004. They have two children, both born in Geneva, Switzerland: Vittorio Leone Ponti (born April 2, 2007) and Beatrice Lara Ponti (born March 15, 2012).

...
Wikipedia