An award-winning composer, conductor, and trumpet player, Giancarlo Castro D’Addona is recognized as one of the most outstanding artists to have emerged from Venezuela’s acclaimed El Sistema music education program. His compositions have been performed in important venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Radio France Auditorium in Paris, Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Berlin Konzerthaus.  

D’Addona’s expertise and versatility have been highly regarded by leading Portland-area music organizations, such as the Reed College Orchestra and Encore Brass, as well as the Portland Youth Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, who have appointed him as the conductor of the Wind Ensemble and the Sinfonietta Orchestra respectively.   

“Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and dedicated to the Encuentros Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel, Encuentro Obertura Festiva is an energetic work featuring large, vibrant, and euphoric symphonic orchestration. It includes festive fanfares and a melodic theme of a joyful character that is presented and developed throughout the entire piece in different styles and rhythms to represent not only the Venezuelan roots of the composer, Dudamel, and some members of the orchestra, but also the musical heritage of the orchestra members from other countries who comprise this ensemble; in this way, the piece celebrates the cultural diversity that defines the wonderful project of the Encuentros Orchestra.”    —Giancarlo Castro D’Addona