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Published on: 8/25/2008
Last Visited: 8/25/2008
DENNIS G. ASSAF
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Dennis G. Assaf's dedication to the arts caused one critic (upon hearing him conduct Bernstein's Overture to Candide) to write, Assaf has been as indefatigable as Voltaire's hero.He is the founding director of the Jefferson Performing Arts Society and holds dual responsibilities as Executive and Artistic Director.He made his Carnegie Hall debut in May 1993 with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in a well-received performance of the Mozart C Minor Class.In addition to conducting the majority of JPAS productions, Maestro Assaf served for five seasons as Music Director of the Pensacola Opera in Florida, where he conducted more than twenty operatic, operetta and concert productions - several he co-produced through JPAS.Recent guest conducting appearances include The Croatian National Theatre Opera Orchestra, Rijeka, Croatia; the Solisti dell' Orchestra Filarmonica di Roma, Italy; the Cairo (Egypt) Symphony; and the Orchestra Fiorentina da Camera of Florence, Italy.He conducted Verdi's La Traviata with his wife Nancy Ross in the title role for the recent premier performances of the Lecco Opera Festival in Lecco, Italy.Last season, he made his Acadiana Symphony of Louisiana conducting debut in The Nutcracker, and this winter he will make his Portland (Maine) Ballet debut in the same work.
Maestro Assaf's European debut in 1996 with the Kings College Orchestra in Aberdeen, Scotland in an all-Mozart program prompted the Aberdeen Press Journal to comment Maestro Assaf is a musical powerhouse leading the orchestra and chorus in a stunning performance of the Mozart Requiem, keeping the desperate urgency of Mozart's music at a seething intensity.A return engagement with this orchestra in an all-American program last season yielded the following comment, Dennis Assaf made the Kings College Orchestra play better than even they thought they could.Two Hawaii newspapers, in a review of La Boheme, were equally glowing: Conductor Dennis Assaf delivered unclouded direction effectively... he displayed a refreshing no=nonsense style... he leads the Hawaii Symphony with a keen ear for Puccini's brilliant orchestration.
He holds a B.M.E. from Loyola University and a Masters of Music in Conducting from the University of New Orleans.He has taken further studies at the prestigious Conductor's Institute, Westminster Choir College, and the Conductor's Workshop with the Gregg Smith Singers.He has been cited as a Cultural Catalyst and One of Ten Who've Made a Difference in his community, a Great Gentleman" of Jefferson Parish, Alumnus of the Year by the University of New Orleans, and he was on of New Orleans Magazine's People to Watch in 1994 and 1982.Assaf's business and artistic vision have garnered Big Easy awards for Best Classical Music Production for A Gala Evening with Frederica von Stade in 1996, and for Outstanding Achievement in 1994.
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Deeply committed to arts education, Assaf believes the survival of major cultural institutions depends upon the involvement of young people in the arts.To grow future audiences and a culturally sensitive community, young people must first be exposed to the joy and beauty of great performing and visual art.To this end he has created performing and fine arts competitions, the Jefferson Children's Chorus and Youth Chorale, the Jefferson Ballet, the highly successful Arts Adventure Series for students, the SASS Special Arts for Seniors Series and SWAT Stage Without a Theatre, an in-school arts education program.
Maestro Assaf and JPAS alone have kept the dream of a performing arts center for Jefferson Parish alive.In the Summer of 2003, the news was finally delivered.Thanks to JPAS, under Assaf's leadership, the state of Louisiana has pledged $20 million for a new performing arts center!
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