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Meet the Phil > Reno Phil Staff > Barry Jekowsky Bio
Barry Jekowsky Music Director of The Reno Philharmonic Now in his 10th season as Music Director of The Reno Philharmonic and 21st season as founder and Music Director of the California Symphony, Barry Jekowsky is considered one of America's most exciting and innovative conductors on the international music scene. In his nine seasons as Music Director of the Reno Philharmonic, the orchestra has more than doubled their budget, concert season, and subscribers. In addition, Barry Jekowsky has helped the orchestra establish a tradition of budget surplus, bucking the national trend of dwindling audiences and budget deficits. From 1994 to 1998, he held the much sought-after post of Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., where his performances were met with critical praise. During his tenure, he led the orchestra in subscription, family, and “Young People’s Concerts” at the Kennedy Center, and summer programs at Wolf Trap. As part of the orchestra’s American Residencies Program, he led successful tours in Maine, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Alabama. He also appeared with the NSO on segments for CBS Sunday Morning and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer . The winner of a Leopold Stokowski Conducting Prize, Barry Jekowsky has appeared as guest conductor with many ensembles throughout North America and Europe including Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals, the London Philharmonic, the City of London Sinfonia, Manchester’s Halle Orchestra, and the Detroit, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Oregon, Richmond (VA), and Oklahoma Symphonies. In 1997, Barry Jekowsky and California Symphony recorded their first compact disc, “Lou Harrison: A Portrait,” an 80th Birthday tribute to American composer Lou Harrison featuring Al Jarreau, on the Decca/Argo label. The recording has received International critical acclaim including selection as Gramophone magazine’s “Recording of the Month” for August 1998. This same CD was featured prominently in the 2005 award-winning, critically acclaimed feature length Documentary Film “Deacon of Death” by Dutch Film Maker, Jan van den Berg. In 1991, he created the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence Program (YACR), which has garnered international attention for its “orchestra-laboratory” forum and supportive cooperation between musicians, conductor, and composer during the creative process. Award-winning program alumni include Kamran Ince, Chris Theofanidis, Kevin Puts, and Pierre Jalbert. Each of these composers has won the prestigious Rome Prize. In 2001 and 2003, Mr. Jalbert and Chris Theofanidis, respectively, won the coveted “Master Prize,” the most prestigious international competition for composers with over 65 countries represented. In recognition of their “Visionary and Passionate Support of Young American Composers,” the BMI Foundation, Inc. awarded Maestro Jekowsky and the California Symphony a “Special Citation Award” in 2002. Long before it became a trend, Barry Jekowsky began giving extraordinarily talented young performers their first professional concert appearances. At the California Symphony and Reno Philharmonic, he has worked hard to build a larger and more diverse audience for classical music by introducing many young prodigies including violinist Sarah Chang, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and pianists Helen Huang, and Joyce Yang — the 2005 Van Cliburn Silver Medalist. Barry Jekowsky’s recognition of the special role an orchestra can play in the community inspired the design of the Reno Philharmonic’s education programs: the Discover Music Ensembles, and Young People Concerts. Under his leadership the youth symphony orchestras expanded to two full orchestra in 1999. Considered an authority on prodigiously gifted children, Mr. Jekowsky was featured in the critically acclaimed 2004 book, “ Genius Denied ” by Jan and Bob Davidson, published by Simon and Schuster. At the age of five, Barry Jekowsky began studying the piano and later trumpet, violin and percussion. At eight he entered The Juilliard School where he ultimately earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He studied conducting with Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Erich Leinsdorf, and Leonard Slatkin and also has an extensive background in jazz and popular music, having appeared and toured with some of the legendary names in the industry. After serving as principal timpanist of the San Francisco Symphony, Barry Jekowsky left that post in 1995 to concentrate full-time on his conducting career. In recognition of his leadership role in the local arts community, the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County honored Maestro Jekowsky in 1996 with its first Arts Recognition Award. He has served on the music panel of the National Endowment of the Arts and the board of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. Barry Jekowsky lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and their three children.
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