Conductor JOANN FALLETTA currently holds the position of Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. In great demand as a guest conductor, Falletta has been invited to conduct many of the world's finest orchestras. Highlights of recent seasons have included guest appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the London Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

In October 2002, Falletta was honored to receive the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award for exceptionally gifted American conductors. She has also won the coveted Stokowski Competition and the Toscanini, Ditson, and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting, and has been recognized as one of America's most gifted programmers. She is the recipient of eight consecutive awards from ASCAP for creative programming, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra League's John S. Edwards Award. She has performed nearly 300 works by American composers, including more than 60 world premieres. A strong advocate for partnerships among leading cultural, educational, and business institutions and the orchestras she conducts, Falletta received the 2002 Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Arts Award for excellence in creating and supporting the arts in Western New York and was recognized as Buffalo's most influential community leader of 2001.

Her growing discography includes over 25 titles. This season will see the release of The Music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes, the second of three discs on the Naxos American Classics series by the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Rhapsodie, the BPO's third self-produced disc, as well as the recording of two discs by the Virginia Symphony, including the world-premiere recording of the John Powell Symphony and The American Cello. Other releases of note this season include Schubert's Guitar on the Koch label, featuring Falletta's original transcriptions of works by Schubert for guitar, clarinet, and soprano, and Falletta performing on guitar.

A native of New York City, Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music and her master's and doctorate degrees from the Juilliard School.