Joseph Primavera (April 13, 1926 – October 14, 2006) was an

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violist and conductor. He was the youngest violist ever appointed to lead the viola section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Until he retired in 2005, Primavera had served as the longest-tenured active conductor in the world as Maestro and Music Director of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.

Biography

Joseph Primavera was born in 1926 to a prominent

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

and began studying the violin at age 6 with Philadelphia-based violinists Guido and Joseph Terranova, and later with Sacha Jacobinoff. Later, he studies trombone with Pietro Rosano. At the New School of Music, he studied violin with Frank Costanzo, viola with Max Aronoff, orchestration and conducting with W.F. Happich, and with the

Curtis String Quartet The Curtis String Quartet was an American string quartet based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The quartet as an entity was formed in 1932Daniel John Carroll, "Brodsky, Jascha", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, ...

. In 1944, he entered the United States Navy, where he served on the and the during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1949, having completed his military service to his country, he was invited to join the

Baltimore Symphony The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

. In 1950, he was invited to join the preeminent

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

as the youngest first chair violist in the history of the Orchestra. In 1960, he received The Philadelphia Orchestra's coveted C. Hartman Kuhn Award for "musical ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and reputation of the Orchestra." He retired from the Philadelphia Orchestra after 17 years to devote himself to conducting and teaching.

Conducting career

Joseph Primavera gave his New York conducting debut in 1959, in which he led musicians from the New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra. His conducting credits included the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, Rome Festival Opera, Beijing Opera/Ballet Orchestra, and Opera Barga in Lucca, Italy. He had served as music director of Telitalia Cable-TV Network (Italian National Radio), Delaware Valley Philharmonic, Sunshine Pops Orchestra (Orlando, Fla.), Cherry Hill (N.J.) Symphony, Old York Road Symphony (Pa.), and Frankford Symphony (Pa.). He had also directed several chamber music series at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, University Museum, and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, and served as music director for films and television specials, including a CBS series featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra. From 1976 until his retirement in 2005, Primavera was conductor and professor of orchestration, chamber music, and musicianship at the University of the Arts. He was a member of the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Conductors Guild. Primavera was recipient of the 1986 Service to Youth in the Performing Arts Award of the Philadelphia Civic Ballet Company, the 1999 Distinguished Service Award of the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teachers with School Orchestra Association, and the 2001 Arts Recognition Award of the Society for the Performing Arts of the Media Theatre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primavera, Joseph 1926 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia American classical violists American male conductors (music) Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra 20th-century violists