James Meena (born 1951) is an American conductor and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

administrator. Formerly the General Director and Principal Conductor of

Toledo Opera The Toledo Opera is an American opera company in Toledo, Ohio, performing in the Valentine Theatre in downtown Toledo. The company's season consists of three fully-realized operas, plus additional community programming for the Northwest Ohio regi ...

in Ohio, since 2000 he has been the General Director and Principal Conductor of

Opera Carolina Opera Carolina is a professional opera company in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1948 by the Charlotte Music Club as the Charlotte Opera Association, the company was renamed Opera Carolina after its 1986 merger with North Carolina Opera whi ...

, in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Early life and education

Meena was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, the son of V. Rev. James C. Meena an

Antiochian Orthodox The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

priest and musician who studied composition and wrote three

hymnals A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

as well as arranging and translating Tchaikovsky's ''Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Tchaikovsky), Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom'' into English. He spent his childhood in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh before returning to Cleveland when his father became pastor of the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church there.Apone, Carl (12 August 1982)
"Concert Winds Up Opera Workshop"
''The Pittsburgh Press'' Meena did his undergraduate studies at Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973, and then taught music for three years in Cleveland's high schools as well as singing in the Cleveland Symphony Chorus. He studied conducting with Robert Page, the chorus's Director and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University where Meena received his Master of Fine Arts in conducting in 1978. When Page became Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in September 1979, he hired Meena as his assistant. He also studied conducting with Thomas Mihalak, who was Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony for six seasons; the opera conductor Rudolph Fellner; and Boris Halip, a former associate concertmaster and conductor of the Bolshoi Ballet who had emigrated to Cleveland and with whom Meena also studied violin. Meena is also known for conducting completely from memory.

Conducting career

Meena made his professional debut in 1980, conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir in performances of Haydn’s ''The Creation (Haydn), The Creation''. His professional opera debut was in 1983 (Mozart’s ''The Magic Flute'') with Pittsburgh Opera, where he was Associate Conductor. His apprentice years in Pittsburgh included work as Music Director of the Three Rivers Training Orchestra and McKeesport Symphony, and director of the Pennsylvania Opera Festival, which has since become the Pittsburgh Opera young artist program. In 1986 he was appointed Artistic Director of

, making his company debut with ''Carmen'', and in 1988 he was appointed Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony, where he conducted Classics, Mainly Mozart, Community Concerts and Symphony Pops concerts. Concurrently, in 1997 he was appointed Conductor of the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, with which he conducted more than twenty performances each season, including the annual Nutcracker production. Meena was appointed General Director & Principal Conductor of

in 2000. He has also maintained an active career as guest conductor of opera and concerts in the United States and abroad, having conducted the New York City Opera, the National Symphony ROC, the KBS Symphony Orchestra (Seoul), the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Cairo Philharmonic, Orchestra Regionale Toscana (Italy) and the orchestra of Teatro Massimo Bellini in Sicily, as well as L’Opera de Montreal, Portland Opera, Washington Opera as well as the opera companies in Modena (Italy), Livorno (Italy), Lucca (Italy), Ravenna (Italy), Pisa (Italy), Phoenix, Sarasota, and Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg (Canada) where he led the world premiere performances of Victor Davies’ ''Transit of Venus (opera), The Transit of Venus'', which was broadcast nationally over the CBC. His performances of Verdi’s ''Il Trovatore'', Gounod’s ''Faust (opera), Faust'' and Tchaikovsky’s ''Eugene Onegin (opera), Eugene Onegin'' have been recorded and broadcast over National Public Radio's World of Opera.

Recordings

*Charles Duvernoy: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 3 (world premiere recording), François Devienne: Première Sonate in B flat, Jean Francaix: ''Tema con variazioni'' – Collaborative Arts Chamber Orchestra, James Meena (conductor). Koch International Classics CD 37186-2.Headington, Christopher (July 1995)
"Review: "Duvernoy Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 3 (Koch International Classics)"
''Gramophone Magazine''

References

External links

;Articles and interviews
"Conversation with James Meena"
from the February 2008 issue of ''Charlotte Magazine''
"Q & A With James Meena"
from the October 2010 issue of ''Charlotte Magazine''
"Innovative Opera Carolina Presents ''Carmen''"
North Carolina Arts Council, 2010
"Interview with Maestro James Meena"
Opera Lively, 2012 ;Media
Opera Carolina's ''Madama Butterfly''
interview and discussion broadcast on the program, Charlotte Talks (Radio WFAE), 11 January 2012
Audio of James Meena conducting a concert of romantic songs and arias
on worldofopera.org
Video with James Meena talking about opera
on operacarolina.org
James Meena Interview
broadcast on News 14 Carolina {{DEFAULTSORT:Meena, James American male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Opera managers 1951 births Living people Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians