Carnegie Hall, Cultural Crossroads, and her 8th Season as the Fresno Philharmonic’s Music Director
Conductor Rei Hotoda has been hailed as an inexhaustible dynamo with a deep commitment to reimagining the 21st century concert experience. Her vision can be seen through her thought provoking programming, passionate allyship to marginalized artists, advocacy for arts education, and an unwavering commitment to presenting many of today’s most notable American composers.
Rei recently made her Carnegie Hall debut conducting the American Composers Orchestra in a compelling program that featured two world premieres—John Glover’s Right Now and Tonia Ko’s Her Land, Expanded—and the New York premiere of Clans from Jerod Impichcha̲achaaha’ Tate’s Lowak Shoppala. She also led the ensemble from the keyboard in George Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony.
“Under conductor Rei Hotoda, the ACO presented works that interpreted the concept of margins in various ways. There was a blending of jazz with classical music…an ecstatic celebration of a marginalized people.” –Classical Voice America
This season marks an important milestone in Rei’s tenure as Music Director of the Fresno Philharmonic. Together we will undertake our largest project to date, Cultural Crossroads, a new series of commissions by California composers exploring and celebrating the diverse cultures of the Fresno region. A central aspect of the vision for this year’s Cultural Crossroads is the world premiere performance of Hitomi and Erika Oba’s Meguru: Dreams of Harvest.
Rei’s impressive list of guest conducting appearances includes collaborations with such prestigious ensembles as the Symphony Orchestras of Chicago, Dallas, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City, and Louisville among others. In 24/25 she will lead ensembles from coast to coast in cities such as New York (American Composers Orchestra), Sarasota (Sarasota Orchestra), San Diego (San Diego Symphony), and Las Vegas (Las Vegas Philharmonic) as well as in Ontario, Canada (London Symphonia) and the island of St. Barthélemy (St. Barts Music Festival).
Known for her dedication to introducing and elevating a wide range of artists, Rei consistently uses her platform as Music Director of the Fresno Philharmonic and as a guest conductor across North America to do just this. Her programming for the 24/25 season features a wealth of composers and soloists that celebrate women and cultural diversity, including performances of works by Reena Esmail, Nkeiru Okoye, Anna Clyne, Jennifer Higdon, Alice Ping Yee Ho, and Jessie Montgomery alongside those of Yūzō Toyama and Dinuk Wijeratne.
Rei’s artistic versatility will be on display this year with performances of large-cale symphonic works such as Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, and Dvořák’s Symphonies No. 8 & 9. Her ability to effortlessly transition between the masterpieces of the past and those of the future make Rei one of the most sought after conductors of her generation.
As an active and critically acclaimed pianist, Rei embraces her time conducting from the keyboard. In 24/25 she will lead the Las Vegas Philharmonic from the piano in Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds. Recent conduct/play highlights, include George Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony for her Carnegie Hall debut, for which Classical Voice America raved, “The program opened in spectacular fashion…Hotoda conducted from the piano…It’s [Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony] a wild, raucous work that acted like a triple espresso to the audience, keying us up and getting us ready for anything.” Additionally she also conducted Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos with the Fresno Philharmonic and Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, K265 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from the piano.
Rei is the proud recipient of several prestigious awards, including the 2006 Taki-Alsop Conducting Fellowship, created by Marin Alsop to mentor women conductors.