Robert Spano granted an honorary degree by BGSU

Internationally acclaimed conductor Robert Spano received an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University on Oct. 14 in Kobacker Hall.

Currently the music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Spano was the BGSU College of Musical Arts orchestra director from 1985-89.

In accepting the award, conferred on him by President Ribeau along with Provost John Folkins and Richard Kennell, dean of the College of Musical Arts, Spano spoke highly of the college’s faculty. He said he had learned so much from his colleagues as a young conductor and faculty member that he actually considered his first teaching job as the final years of his own education. He added that he felt “bolstered and supported” by the collegial atmosphere at BGSU, which helped to launch his career as a conductor.

Spano has conducted nearly every major North American orchestra and has also appeared throughout Europe and Asia. Active as an opera conductor as well, he has led performances in Chicago, Houston, Seattle and Santa Fe.

The Boston Globe deemed him “… the most comprehensively gifted American conductor to emerge since James Levine, Michael Tilson and Leonard Slatkin.”

In his seven years with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, he has been credited with elevating the orchestra to new levels of international prominence.

During this, his second year with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Spano has begun to enrich the orchestra’s repertoire and further expand its distinguished reputation through his innovative programming. He has commissioned a premiere performance of a major new work by celebrated young composer and Bowling Green alumna Jennifer Higdon for the 2002-03 season.

In addition to his commitments in Atlanta and Brooklyn, he was recently appointed director of the 2003 and 2004 Festivals of Contemporary Music at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center. He also makes his New York Philharmonic debut this season ,and returns to the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cincinnati and St. Louis symphonies.

Despite his demanding schedule, Spano remains committed to music education. He has served not only on BGSU’s music faculty, but also on the faculties of Juilliard, the Curtis Institute and the Oberlin Conservatory, where he is associate professor of conducting.

Spano has been featured on CBS’s “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Sunday Morning,” A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts” and the PBS series “City Arts.”