JoAnn Falletta

JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor best known for her association with the Virginia Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic orchestras.

Born in New York City on February 27, 1954, she was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City. She began her musical career as a virtuoso guitar and mandolin player, and in her twenties was often called to perform with the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic when a work called for a mandolin or guitar obbligato. She entered Mannes in 1972 as a guitar student, but began conducting the student orchestra in her freshman year, immediately precipitating her desire for a career as a conductor. While the Mannes administration at that time expressed doubts about the ability of any woman to gain a music directorship, it consented to an official transfer of emphasis for Falletta. After graduation, she pursued further study at Queens College (M.A. in orchestral conducting) and the Juilliard School of Music (M.M., D.M.A. in orchestral conducting). Falletta studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling, Semyon Bychkov, and others, including master classes under Leonard Bernstein.

Falletta's first permanent engagement was as music director of the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra, a position she held from 1977 to 1989. She served as music director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra from 1983 to 1992, and as associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1988. Additionally, from 1986 to 1996, she served as music director of the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic.

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