JOHN THOMAS DODSON
Music Director
Adrian Symphony Orchestra
Principal Conductor
Ballet Theatre of Toledo
With his powerful and insightful interpretations, the American conductor, John Thomas Dodson, has been praised recently by critics as "brilliant and effervescent", commenting on his "intelligent and logical" leadership, noting his "collaborative hand" coupled with a "commanding authority".
In addition to his regular work in the United States, Mr. Dodson appears with orchestras all over the world including the Athens State Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, Bialystok Philharmonic, and the Symphony Orchestra UANL in Monterrey, Mexico. He has made numerous tours of Russia conducting the National Philharmonic of Russia, National Symphony Orchestra of Bashkortostan, Irkutzk Symphony Orchestra, and the Omsk State Academic Symphony Orchestra.
Currently serving as Music Director of the Adrian Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of Ballet Theatre of Toledo, Mr. Dodson is committed to new music and has led over twenty world premieres in the United States, Russia and Europe. Under his Music Directorship the Adrian Symphony Orchestra named American composer Kenneth Fuchs its Composer-in-Residence for two seasons, resulting in five world premieres, and he invited Bright Sheng to conduct his music with the orchestra later the following year. Mr. Dodson's recording of orchestral music by Robert Jager with the Omsk Philharmonic was released on the Naxos label in May of 2011. Beginning in the fall of 2011, Dodson will also serve as Artistic Director of the Conciertos de la Villa de Santo Domingo, and Principal Conductor of Camerata Colonial as part of a newly-formed project in the Dominican Republic featuring Baroque music concerts, educational activities and on-site discovery experiences in the historic buildings of the first city of the New World. Camerata Colonial, the chamber orchestra for this project, is comprised of international musicians drawn from principal players from the New York City Ballet Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic.
During his time with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra the organization has experienced tremendous artistic development and remarkable audience growth. The orchestra has introduced audience-educational programs that serve the entire age spectrum and created innovative concert-formats drawing the largest audiences in the orchestra's history. Recent artistic highlights have included collaborations with pianist Cecile Licad, violinist Kurt Nikkanen, Naumburg Award winners David Aaron Carpenter and Gilles Vonsattel, and a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with violinist Janet Sung.
In 2008, the Adrian Symphony Orchestra was one of seven orchestras in the nation chosen by the League of American Orchestras for its Institutional Vision Program, a three-year intensive program devoted to long-term institutional growth. For his impact upon the musical life of the community, Mr. Dodson received the 2008 Lenawee Arts Award from the Croswell Opera House. He was given the Ross Newsom Award for Outstanding Teaching by Adrian College in 2009.
John Thomas Dodson holds a master of music degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied under renowned conducting pedagogue Frederik Prausnitz. He continued his studies with Paul Vermel at the Aspen Music School, studied composition with Robert Jager and was mentored in strings by Ed Meyer, father of bass virtuoso and composer Edgar Meyer.
REVIEWS
Adrian Symphony Orchestra, Adrian, Michigan "…the orchestra handled its (Debussy' s La Mer) considerable complexities very well and, very importantly, in his conducting ASO Music Director John Dodson gave the music the space it needed to develop…Under Dodson' s leadership, the ASO has matured into an orchestra that' s very different than it was just a few years ago…The ASO bar has just been set a notch further up.
Arlene Bachanov, Daily Telegram, Adrian, Michigan, September 24, 2006
National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic "…under the direction of Dodson the musical result achieved was brilliant and effervescent."
Lúis Alberto Muñoz, El Caribe, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic August 16, 2006
Bialystok Philharmonic "American conductor John Dodson understood Franck' s Symphony in D Minor well, leading it intelligently and logically. He allowed for ebb and flow and built a series of climaxes that related to each other across the entire work. This expressive conception was so convincing that it drew the listeners completely into the course of the work."
Stanislawa Oledzkiego, Gazeta Wyborcza, Bialystok, Poland, March 2002
Symphonic Orchestra UANL of Monterrey Mexico "Dodson is a good director…, he is clear in his gestures and effective in the moment. He led the program well with a collaborative hand and commanded the orchestra with authority. Dodson made sure that the themes would appear in the exact moment and with precise intensity in order not to lose the themes among
the other elements. The orchestra gave a good interpretation of the music, always attentive to Dodson's hand."
Silvino Jarmilllo, El Porvenir, Monterrey, Mexico, December 6, 1998
Budapest Philharmonic
"Dodson prepared our Philharmonic with incredible care. This intensive preparation resulted in an evocative and truly expressive performance. . . . a truly great popular success."
Janos Breuer, Budapest Musical Chronical, Budapest, Hungary May 13, 1986