James Allen Gähres

James Allen Gähres (born August 5, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)[1] is an American conductor, based in Germany.

James Allen Gähres
James Allen Gähres in 2011
Born (1943-08-05) August 5, 1943
Harrisburg, United States of America
Education
Occupation
Years active1969–present
StyleClassical music

Biography

Gähres studied music, conducting, composition and piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, where he was musical assistant of the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in his final study year, and as a Fulbright-Fellowship holder with Hans Swarovsky at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He attended Master classes with Bruno Maderna in Salzburg.[2]

Gähres began his conducting career began after several years as a freelance composer and pianist in southern Germany. He worked as a conductor at several opera houses in Germany, including 10 years as first Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Hannover.[3] Then he was engaged as the first conductor at the Staatstheater Braunschweig for three years. His work in Germany included conducting the German premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, in the Scottish Opera version, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, at the invitation of Götz Friedrich. He also worked regularly with the Lower Saxony Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Saarland on concert tours, in Israel, Spain, the United States, France, Great Britain and Canada.[4][5]

James Allen Gähres conducting a philharmonic concert (2011)

From 1994 to 2011, Gähres was Generalmusikdirektor (General Music Director, GMD) at the Theater Ulm, which also encompassed the post of chief conductor of the Ulm Philharmonic Orchestra.[6] During his Ulm tenure, Gähres founded the tradition of the New Year's concerts and of the Herbert von Karajan Memorial concerts. He recorded more than 15 CDs as chief conductor in Ulm.

James Allen Gähres after conducting a philharmonic concert

Selected Discography
  • Selections from 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' by Richard Wagner; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662127
  • Symphony concerts; Angela Denoke (soprano), Tamás Füzesi (violin), Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662080
  • Johann Strauß 1899–1999; An der schönen blauen Donau - Neujahrskonzerte; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662097
  • Christmas concert; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662141
  • Great moments Vol. 1, First Live Recordings of Carmen-Suite, Self-portrait and Two tangos by Albéniz by Rodion Shchedrin; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662202
  • Angela Denoke: Singer of the Year 1999 - a reminiscence of the years in Ulm; Angela Denoke (soprano), Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662134
  • Requiem (K. 626) and the Maurerische Trauermusik (K. 477) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Ulmer Kantorei, Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662172
  • Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 73 by Beethoven and the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 by Sergei Rachmaninoff; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662110
  • Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 and the Symphony No. 5, Op. 67; Ulm Philharmonic. Conductor: James Allen Gähres. EAN 4019981662103

References
  1. Harrisburg Telegraph from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, page 6 (August 9, 1943) Announcements Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  2. Schniederjürgen, Axel. Kürschners Musiker-Handbuch (Kürschner's German Music Handbook), 2006, page 130, Publisher: De Gruyter Gähres, James Allen Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  3. Hammer, Sabine. Oper in Hannover, 1990, Publisher: Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft, ISBN 3-87706-298-9 Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. Jugendsinfonieorchester Niedersachsen "Bisherige Dirigenten" Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  5. Landes-Jugend-Symphonie-Orchester-Saar "Bisherige Dirigenten" Archived 2016-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  6. Jürgen Kanold (2013-08-03). "James Allen Gähres feiert 70. Geburtstag". Südwest Presse. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Alicja Mounk		 Generalmusikdirektor, Theater Ulm
1994–2011		 Succeeded by
Timo Handschuh
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.