Fabio Mechetti
Born in São Paulo, Fabio Mechetti is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor at the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra since its creation in 2008. For his brilliant work, he has received the Carlos Gomes Award in 2009 as the Best Brazilian Conductor. In 2014, Mr. Mechetti has become the first Brazilian invited to conduct an Asian orchestra, as the Principal Conductor of the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been the conductor of the symphony orchestras of Syracuse, Spokane and Jacksonville. Presently, he holds the position of Conductor Emeritus of the latter two.

Fabio Mechetti has worked as an Associate Conductor with Mstislav Rostropovich in the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington and, with him, directed concerts at the Kennedy Center and the US Capitol. He has also been Resident Conductor of The Symphonic Orchestra of San Diego.

He has made his debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York conducting the Symphony Orchestra of New Jersey and has also directed numerous American orchestras, such as Seattle, Buffalo, Utah, Rochester, Phoenix and Columbus, among others. He is also a frequent guest in summer festivals in the United States, including the Grant Park in Chicago and Chautauqua in New York.

Mr. Mechetti has conducted several concerts in Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. In Japan, he has led the Symphony Orchestras of Tokyo, Sapporo and Hiroshima. In Europe, he has performed with the Symphony Orchestra of Scotland and the BBC Orchestra of Radio and TV in Spain. He has also directed the Auckland Philharmonic in New Zealand, the Symphony Orchestra of Quebec in Canada, and the Tampere Philharmonic in Finland.

As a winner of the Nikolai Malko International Conducting Competition in Denmark, Mr. Mechetti regularly performs in Scandinavia, especially with the Danish and the Helsingborg Radio Orchestras in Sweden. Recently, he has debuted in Italy, conducting the Symphony Orchestra of Rome. In 2015, he is conducting the Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark.

In Brazil, Fabio Mechetti has been invited to conduct the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo State Symphony, the orchestras of Porto Alegre, Brasilia and Paraná, as well as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Municipal Symphonic Orchestras.

He has worked with some of the greatest artists of several generations, from masters such as Alicia de Larrocha, Magda Tagliaferro, Nicanor Zabaleta, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, Kathleen Battle, Gil Shaham, Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Arnaldo Cohen, Nelson Freire, Andre Watts, among others.

Also acclaimed as an opera conductor, he debuted in the United States conducting the Washington Opera. Its repertoire features remarkable productions of Tosca, Turandot, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte, Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Barber of Seville, La Traviata and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Fabio Mechetti holds Master’s degrees in conducting and composition from the Juilliard School of Music.

The Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra
was created in 2008 for the promotion of orchestral music in the State of Minas Gerais and elsewhere, nationally and internationally. Artistic excellence and dynamic programming are at the heart of the orchestra’s work. With ninety musicians from all over Brazil, Europe, Asia and the Americas, the orchestra has won recognition, particularly through the 2012 Carlos Gomes Award for best Brazilian orchestra, and its selection in 2010 as the best classical music ensemble of the year by the São Paulo Art Critics Association (APCA). In 2009 its music director and principal conductor, Fabio Mechetti, was honoured with the Carlos Gomes Award for best Brazilian conductor. The Minas Gerais Philharmonic currently performs at the Palace of Fine Arts, a concert hall in the city of Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais. It tours around the state as well as other states in Brazil, and abroad. It promotes audience development projects such as educational concerts and open concerts in the parks and squares of Belo Horizonte. It participates in festivals and fosters innovative initiatives, including the promotion of Brazilian contemporary composers and young Brazilian conductors.