Bio
"...the evening belonged to conductor Marc Taddei who steered the orchestra, chorus and soloists through with quiet, (not a term used often about Taddei) authority. His intensity, commitment and attention to detail gave the performance true gravitas. He is very quick to give generous accolades to his performers but on this occasion he deserved every bit of the audience’s enthusiastic response."
Garth Wilshire, Capital Times, 17 Sept 08
"...an evening of fantastic music and an astonishing level of achievement.
“This was a sensational performance… the orchestra was magnificent.
“Marc Taddei conducted with tremendous authority – who will ever forget the sheer impact of the opening of the Fifth Door, with full orchestra and organ?”
JOHN BUTTON, Dominion Post, 8 Sep 2008
Summary
Vector Wellington Orchestra Music Director Marc Taddei is a frequent guest conductor throughout Australasia, and recently has begun to return each year to conduct in the United States. After major success as music director of the Christchurch Symphony, he moved to the Nation's Capital, where his innovative programming, audience building, and his raising of the orchestra's profile in the community has been accorded recognition and praise.
In addition to his extensive symphonic repertoire, Marc also works with Opera New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and has appeared with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Julian Lloyd Webber, Horacio Gutierrez, Simon O’Neill, Helen Callus, Angela Brown, Joshua Redman, Pedro Carneiro, Joanna MacGregor, James Morrison, Diana Krall and Art Garfunkel among many diverse artists. He is a graduate of the Julliard School in Manhattan.
Biography
US-born New Zealand conductor Marc Taddei has been widely acclaimed for the passion and energy he brings to performances, which makes him sought after by every professional orchestra in New Zealand and a frequent guest conductor of the major Australian orchestras. After success as music director of the Christchurch Symphony, in 2007 he was appointed music director of the Wellington Orchestra in New Zealand's capital city, where he is repeatedly credited for innovative programming and increasing the support of the Wellington concert-going public. Previous appointments include Principal Guest Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony, Associate Conductor of the Auckland Philharmonia, and Director of Orchestral Studies at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
Marc Taddei has conducted the Richmond Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Oregon, Fort Worth and New Haven Symphony Orchestras, the Eugene Symphony, the Southwest Florida Symphony, The Queensland Orchestra, the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and the Silesian State Opera in the Czech Republic. He has conducted for Opera New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and has been a frequent guest at the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts. His performance with the Louisiana Philharmonic was nominated for best Contemporary Classical Performance of the year at the 12th annual Tribute to the Classical Arts in New Orleans.
He has worked with such diverse artists as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Angela Brown, Julian Lloyd Webber, Horacio Gutiérrez, Simon O’Neill, Joanna MacGregor, Jonathan Lemalu, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Sir Howard Morrison, Michael Houstoun, Gregg Baker, Dame Malvina Major, Helen Callus, Csaba Erdélyi, Joshua Redman, Pedro Carneiro, James Morrison, Diana Krall, Bobby Shew, Art Garfunkel and even Kenny Rogers.
In 2009 Marc introduced an exciting new series for the Wellington Orchestra that included the 5 Beethoven Piano Concerti with New Zealand legend Michael Houstoun alongside a “Pulse” theme that simultaneously introduces audiences to new music and explores the vitality of the classical canon. 2009 also saw him lead a nationwide tour of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of La Sylphide, record the soundtrack to a major motion picture, return to conduct in Auckland, Nelson, Dunedin, Brisbane and Tasmania, and debut in Richmond, Virginia, and with the Sydney Symphony and James Morrison.
Marc's impressive discography includes over twenty recordings on the Sony, BMG, Koch, Columbia, Trust, ASV, Universal, Rattle, Concordance and Kiwi Pacific labels, and many of his discs are featured in streaming audio on the Naxos music library web site.
Marc’s successes as a recording artist are informed by his work in the industry as a conductor, soloist, orchestral musician and as a producer. His release of British viola concertos with Helen Callus and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra received rave reviews in Gramophone, Classic FM, and Strad magazines and the CD was listed as recording of the month by Music Web International and Classic FM. The American Record guide said of his Berlioz Harold in Italy/Bartok Viola Concerto CD that “this is one of the best Harolds you'll find anywhere, and the Bartok will appeal to anyone dissatisfied by previous editions of the score.” His Rattle CD, “View From Olympus” was awarded Classical Album of the Year in 2007 at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards and spent an unprecedented nine months at #1 in the classical music charts. It was specially featured by Jim Svejda on KUSC-FM in the United States, and on his nationally syndicated programme, The Record Shelf. Marc’s SONY recording with the Christchurch Symphony went double platinum in 2004.
Marc also conducted the soundtrack to Britain's Channel 4 film based on Wagner's Ring Cycle, which won the prestigious Prix de Basle Special Jury Award for the "most outstanding contribution to European culture in television". He has conducted for television producers such as C4 productions in the UK and New Zealand, Fox Television, TVNZ and TV3 in New Zealand. Marc’s appearances on television have included live performances with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Young Musician of the Year, Last Night of the Proms, and a children’s television special entitled “Baby Proms” which introduces preschool childern and their care givers to the joys of the orchestra. A special televised performance of Vaughn Williams Symphony Antartica featuring Sir Edmund Hillary as narrator was broadcast live via satellite to Scott Base in the Antarctic in a world first in 2005.
An advocate of new media in performance, and extra-musical collaboration as a means of enriching the artistic experience, Marc has worked with many of New Zealand’s finest composers and visual artists in groundbreaking orchestral and visual collaborations that have energized audiences. One such collaboration, entitled Southern Journeys, was released by Natural History New Zealand as a DVD in 2002.
Marc is a graduate of the Julliard School in Manhattan, where he received both bachelors and masters degrees before moving to New Zealand.
Bio updated 21 August 2009. Please destroy any previous or undated bios.
"[Bouquet for Marc Taddei]… whose energy, exuberance, drive and vision proved beyond all doubt that music is an essential feature of daily life in a 21st century city."
The Press
"Marc Taddei skilfully took the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra to new heights with an outstanding concert that was nothing short of brilliant in all aspects."
The Press
"The hero was Marc Taddei. His was a real interpretation. His tempi were swiftish but apt, rhythms were beautifully sprung - never sagging and dynamics were scrupulously observed."
The Dominion Post
Marc Taddei
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