Carmon DeLeone (IPO Conductor) For well over 50 seasons, Carmon DeLeone has served as Music Director of The Cincinnati Ballet, and now continues as their Music Director Emeritus. He is Conductor Laureate of The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and The Middletown (OH) Symphony Orchestra and possesses an impressive list of accomplishments. At New York’s Carnegie Hall, he has served as Conductor and Host of the “Family Concert” Series with the Orchestra of St. Lukes. He has also led orchestras in England, Luxembourg, Germany, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Maestro DeLeone has been named the Illinois “Music Director of the Year,” and under his leadership, The Illinois Philharmonic was twice named the “Illinois Orchestra of the Year.”
Maestro DeLeone is a talented composer, having written many original scores for the ballet. His most recent ballet composition, “Dancing To OZ!” was premiered by Cincinnati Ballet, and his best-known work, the full-length ballet in two acts, “Peter Pan,” is enjoying continued praise in major cities from coast to coast, as well as in Europe and Asia. Maestro DeLeone conducted the debut of “Peter Pan” in London during a 28-performance run with the Atlanta Ballet at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall. His list of ballet score creations also includes “The Princess and the Pea,” “Fanfare, Funk & Fandango” (An American Dance Set), “Frevo,” “Guernica,” “With Timbrel and Dance,” and Ruth Page’s “Billy Sunday,” which was nationally televised on PBS
During his 12-year tenure as Assistant, and later Resident Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Maestro DeLeone served on its staff with Music Directors Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Walter Susskind, and Erich Kunzel. He was also selected personally by Maestro Erich Leinsdorf to participate in an intensive master conducting seminar at New York’s Lincoln Center.
His diverse talents are demonstrated by the wide range of his musical interests. He is experienced in both the classics and jazz, whether leading his own “Studio Big Band” from the drum set, or playing French horn in both idioms.
Maestro DeLeone earned B.M., B.S., and M.M. degrees from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He served at CCM as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Opera and Music Theatre. During his tenure there, he conducted productions of Prince Igor, La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, The Crucible, La Callisto (American Premiere), and The Secret Marriage. He has been presented with the Conservatory’s “Distinguished Alumni Award.” At Indiana University, he conducted the world premiere and nationally televised production of John Eaton’s children’s opera, The Lion and Androcles.
Maestro DeLeone made his New York conducting debut with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at City Center. He has been awarded the esteemed MacDowell Medal by the Cincinnati MacDowell Society, and next June, he will receive the very first “Lifetime Achievement Award” given by the Cincinnati Jazz Hall Of Fame. His very popular eclectic weekly radio show, Sunday Morning Music Hall, can be heard live online internationally at WDJO-AM & FM.