Noted for her vibrant performances in a wide diversity of musical styles, JOANA CARNEIRO has attracted considerable attention as one of the most outstanding young conductors working today. In January 2009 she was named Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, succeeding Kent Nagano and becoming only the third music director in the 40-year history of the orchestra. She currently serves as official guest conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, working with the orchestra at least four weeks every year.Ms. Carneiro marks her second season as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony in 2010/2011. This season’s schedule also includes a re-engagement with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with Dawn Upshaw as soloist, debuts with the Detroit and Indianapolis symphonies, and a return to Sao Paulo where she will conduct the complete Daphnis & Chloe. Last season, she led a much-lauded opening concert of the Venice Biennale in the Gran Teatro de la Fenice and made debuts with the Sao Paulo State Symphony, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, where the Pioneer Press called her performance “an unqualified triumph.” Previous engagements have included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival and Manhattan School of Music. In Europe, she has conducted the Norkopping Symphony, Prague Philharmonia and Orchestre de Bretagne, among others. Her Asian appearances have included the Macau Chamber Orchestra and Beijing Orchestra at the International Musica Festival of Macau (China).Increasingly in demand as an opera conductor, Ms. Carneiro makes her Cincinnati Opera debut in July 2011 conducting John Adams’ A Flowering Tree, in which she also recently debuted with the Chicago Opera Theater and at La Cité de la Musique in Paris. In January 2010, Ms. Carneiro led performances of Peter Sellars’s stagings of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms at the Sydney Festival, which won Australia's Helpmann Award for Best Symphony Orchestra Concert in 2010. Previously she served as assistant conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Paris Opera's premiere of Adriana Mater by Kaija Saariaho and led critically-acclaimed performances of Philippe Boesmans's Julie in Bolzano, Italy.As a finalist of the prestigious 2002 Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition at Carnegie Hall, Ms. Carneiro was recognized by the jury for demonstrating a level of potential that holds great promise for her future career. Since then, her profile has grown quickly both in the United States and Europe. From 2005 through 2008, Ms. Carneiro was an American Symphony Orchestra League Conducting Fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Carneiro worked closely with Esa-Pekka Salonen, hosted education concerts, and conducted subscription concerts and special projects at Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl. In 2003-2004, Ms. Carneiro worked with Maestros Kurt Masur and Christoph von Dohnanyi and conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as one of three conductors chosen for London’s Allianz Cultural Foundation International Conductors Academy. Having won the Young Musicians Foundation’s 2002 National Conductor Search, Ms. Carneiro served as Music Director of the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra until June 2005. Previously, Ms. Carneiro served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and as Music Director of the Campus Philharmonia Orchestra (Michigan).A native of Lisbon, Ms. Carneiro began her musical studies as a violist before receiving her conducting degree from the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon, where she studied with Jean-Marc Burfin. Ms. Carneiro received her Masters degree in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University as a student of Victor Yampolsky and Mallory Thompson, and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Kenneth Kiesler. She has participated in master classes with Gustav Meier, Michael Tilson Thomas, Larry Rachleff, Jean Sebastian Bereau, Roberto Benzi and Pascal Rophe.Ms. Carneiro is the 2010 recipient of the Helen M. Thompson Award, conferred by the League of American Orchestras to recognize and honor music directors of exceptional promise. In March 2004, Ms. Carneiro was decorated by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr. Jorge Sampaio, with the Commendation of the Order of the Infante Dom Henrique.Date Last Edited: 16th September 2010