Select Page

Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Press Room

MOLA presents conductor JoAnn Falletta with Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music
MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians honors Falletta for her many decades of exemplary leadership and tireless advocacy

BERLIN | June 5, 2023 — MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians is honoring American conductor JoAnn Falletta with the 2023 Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music.

MOLA is the premier professional association for music performance librarians who acquire, prepare, catalogue and maintain music for their institutions. With more than 450 members, this international nonprofit represents more than 300 organizations, including symphony orchestras, opera and ballet companies, music academies, professional bands and ensembles across the world.

As a multiple GRAMMY® Award winner who has led more than 100 orchestras across the globe, Falletta is an internationally celebrated conductor and an outstanding ambassador for music. In a video message shared last night at the 41st annual MOLA conference in Berlin, Falletta spoke of her deep respect and gratitude for performance librarians.

“This award means so much to me,” Falletta said. “I think that many of you know how much I admire MOLA and the work that you do — how much I admire your scholarship, your wisdom, your understanding of music, your support and appreciation of each other, and your incredible patience with all of us.”

Falletta thanked several librarians by name and acknowledged the important role they play in the performing arts ecosystem.

“I know I could never have the life I have in music without your support,” Falletta said. “And I’m very grateful to you. How can I ever say ‘thank you’ enough for that? I will treasure this beautiful Eroica Award, but you are the true heroes.”

The criteria for the Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music is to recognize an individual (or group of individuals) who inspires MOLA with their advocacy for the art form, artistic excellence, and/or leadership. MOLA encourages nominations for those who champion underrepresented works or composers, mentor young musicians, bridge communities, or break new ground. Whether a performer, scholar or editor, the recipient can represent any facet of the music world.

Falletta embarked on her first season as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic in the 1999-2000 season, and in doing so, became the first woman to lead a major American ensemble. However, her inspired leadership extends well beyond the podium. A passionate advocate for up-and-coming musicians, she has led seminars for women conductors and helped create mentoring opportunities for rising conductors at top conservatories, elite summer programs and at the Buffalo Philharmonic. She has been championing women conductors, composers and musicians for decades.

“JoAnn Falletta’s incredible leadership on and off the podium, her mentoring and advocacy for young conductors and musicians, and her selfless work helping the Hawaii Symphony through their reorganization, are just a few of the reasons that she received a record number of nominations from our MOLA member librarians,” said Courtney Secoy Cohen, MOLA president. “Her dedication to championing underserved composers and gracious interactions with everyone she works with have enriched the classical music world, and we are all so grateful for her altruistic contributions to help ensure the lasting future of classical music.”

MOLA member and principal librarian of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Kim Kiyabu, said Falletta was a “superior” human being and nearly “overqualified” for the award.

“The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra would not exist without her massive donation of time, energy and goodwill,” Kiyabu said. “Emerging from a bankruptcy period in 2009, she has worked pro bono as our artistic advisor in the very difficult transition from the Honolulu Symphony into the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. She volunteered her time and expertise to counsel our board and leadership as the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra found its footing. She also voluntarily sat through auditions. She programmed the first-ever Ukulele Concerto by Byron Yasui with Jake Shimabukuro as the guest artist and championed other local Hawaii composers. She has conducted masterworks and community concerts in seemingly impossible places. I am unable to voice the enormous gratitude, “Mahalo Nui Loa” and “Aloha Kakou” — the closest meaning would be a love and sharing of our lives together — from the entire body of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra for the life and passion of the always very gracious JoAnn Falletta.”

Other nominators echoed similar sentiments about Falletta’s generosity with time and advocacy for underrepresented musicians.

Virginia Symphony Principal Librarian and MOLA member Carl Wilder has enjoyed working with Falletta since day one.

“When I joined the Virginia Symphony, I was immediately impressed with her warmth and welcoming spirit,” Wilder explained. “Her support and respect of the library has been invaluable. She is incredibly kind and generous with her time and has mentored many composers and musicians. She is a wonderful person who has championed countless works, composers, and musicians throughout her career.”

Virginia Symphony Assistant Librarian and MOLA member Paula Peebles Bonds referred to Falletta as a “champion on and off the podium” as well as a “perfect candidate” for the honor.

Falletta is the second-ever recipient of the Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music. In 2022, the association presented violinist Jennifer Koh with the inaugural award at its 40th conference in Philadelphia.

For Falletta and MOLA, it’s clear the admiration is mutual.

“MOLA represents for me the epitome of professionalism and the highest standard of knowledge in our music world,” Falletta said. “You are the incredible people who make it possible for conductors and musicians to do the work they love. The orchestral world simply could not exist without you.”

Learn more about MOLA at mola-inc.org. Visit joannfalletta.com to learn more about this year’s award recipient.

For photography, interviews or media inquiries, please contact admin@mola-inc.org.

###

About MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians

Founded in 1983 as the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association, MOLA’s mission is to facilitate communication between professional performance librarians, educate and assist them in providing service to their organizations, provide support and resources to the performing arts, and work with publishers to achieve the highest standards in music performance materials.

The first MOLA meeting was held in Philadelphia in 1983, when 25 librarians from the United States and Canada met for a day to discuss issues of common interest. Today MOLA is an international, nonprofit corporation spanning the globe with a membership of over 300 professional performing arts organizations, represented by more than 450 performance librarians from symphony orchestras, opera and ballet companies, music academies, professional bands and ensembles in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South America, and Australasia. The job of these performance librarians is to acquire, prepare, catalogue and maintain the music for each institution. Through MOLA, librarians share information and resources to help them in their daily work. Learn more at mola-inc.org.

About JoAnn Falleta

Multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Connie and Marc Jacobson Music Director Laureate of the Virginia Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center and Artistic Adviser to the Hawaii Symphony. She was recently named one of the “Fifty Great Conductors,” past and present, by Gramophone Magazine, and is hailed for her work as a conductor, recording artist, audience builder and champion of American composers.

Upon her appointment as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American ensemble and has been credited with bringing the Philharmonic to an unprecedented level of national and international prominence. The Buffalo Philharmonic has become one of the leading recording orchestras for Naxos, with two GRAMMY Award-winning recordings. This season, the BPO performed at Carnegie Hall for a centennial celebration of former BPO Music Director Lukas Foss. The orchestra also traveled to Florida for their fifth tour of the State under Falletta’s leadership.

Her North American guest conducting appearances include the National Symphony, and the orchestras of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Vancouver, Toronto, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Montreal, Seattle, San Diego, and the Orchestre Métropolitain of Montréal to name a few. Internationally, she has conducted many of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia, and South America, with concerts in Spain, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, and Croatia earlier this season. In 2022, she led the National Symphony in two PBS televised specials for New Year’s Eve and the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center and made her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

With a discography of more than 125 titles, Falletta is a leading recording artist for Naxos. She has won two individual GRAMMY Awards, including the 2021 GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance as conductor of the world premiere Naxos recording, Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua. In 2019, she won her first individual GRAMMY Award as conductor of the London Symphony in the Best Classical Compendium category for Spiritualist, her fifth world premiere recording of the music of Kenneth Fuchs. Her Naxos recording of John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan received two GRAMMY Awards in 2008. Her 2020 Naxos recording of orchestral music of Florent Schmitt with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra received the prestigious Diapason d’Or Award. Her most recent releases for Naxos include the complete William Walton Façade, with narrators Kevin Deas, Hila Plitmann and American Public Media Host Fred Child, and the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players, and two recordings with the BPO: Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy and Symphony No. 2, and a world premiere recording of Adophus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto together with Danny Elfman’s Violin Concerto.

Falletta is a member of the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has served by presidential appointment as a Member of the National Council on the Arts during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations and is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards. She has conducted over 1,600 orchestral works by over 600 composers with over 150 world premieres In 2019, Falletta was named Performance Today’s first Classical Woman of The Year, calling her a “tireless champion, and lauding her “unique combination of artistic authority and compassion, compelling musicianship and humanity.” A leading advocate of works by women composers she has conducted over 135 works by over 70 women composer many of which were US or world premieres. ASCAP has honored her as “a leading force for music of our time.”

Falletta is a strong advocate and mentor for young professional and student musicians. She has led seminars for women conductors for the League of American Orchestras and established a unique collaboration between the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Mannes College of Music to give up-and-coming conductors professional experience with a leading American orchestra. In 2018, she served on the jury of the Malko Competition in Denmark. She has had great success working with young musicians, guest conducting orchestras at top conservatories and summer programs such as the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Interlochen, and Brevard Music Center, and as Artistic Advisor at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Falletta has held the positions of Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony, Music Director of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the Denver Chamber Orchestra and The Women’s Philharmonic.

After earning her bachelor’s degree at Mannes, Falletta received master’s and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School. When not on the podium, Falletta enjoys playing classical guitar, writing, cycling, yoga and is an avid reader.

For further information, visit joannfalletta.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 5, 2023

Contact: De'Jonna Mayo, Communications Manager
Phone: 757-213-1424
Email: dmayo@virginiasymphony.org

Twitter: @VASymphony
Facebook: facebook.com/virginiasymphony

Emmanual Losa

Emmanuel Losa

Cello

Born in 1998, Emmanuel Losa grew up in Marietta, Georgia to a Nigerian father and Jamaican mother. Starting his cello studies at the age of 12, he began to have an affinity for the orchestral world and later studying with the esteemed cellists of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, his primary instructor was Joel Dallow; in addition, studying with Dona Vellek (Assistant Principal Cello Emeritus) and Karen Freer (Assistant Principal Cello).

Emmanuel heavily enjoys studying various pieces of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, spending his summers at various festivals such as Bowdoin International Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Aspen Music Festival to name a few.

A student of Alan Stepansky at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Emmanuel is pursuing an undergraduate cello performance degree in orchestral performance. He continues his studies with a focus on winning a position with a major orchestra.

Zacherie Small

Zacherie Small

Double Bass

After migrating from his native island of Barbados, Zacherie Small began his Double Bass studies the age of 19 with Jonathan Dadurka at Miami-Dade College where he graduated with a Associate of Arts in Music. Afterwards, he went on to study with Luis Gomez-Imbert at Florida International University where he now holds a Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance; Cum Laude, and a Masters of Music in Double Bass Performance. Also, recently graduated with his second Masters from Temple University studying with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra such as Nathaniel West, Joseph Conyers, and Robert Kesselman.

Small has performed with various orchestras. He is a member of the Miami Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Eduardo Marturet. He was also the Principal Double Bass of the Miami Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jorge Vazquez. Small periodically performs with the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra.

Small has attended the Miami Summer Music Festival at Barry University for 3 years. During the festival, he has performed in many concerts with various conductors like Michael Rossi, Yuriy Bekker, Joel Smirnoff, David Efron, Stephanie Rhodes, and Steve Gruman. Also, participated in the Philadelphia International Music Festival to study with Nathaniel West and under the baton of Kensho Watanabe.

As well as being a performer, Small is the secondary music director South-Dade Middle School and does masterclasses at various schools in Miami, FL. He is also a teacher for the Artist of the Miami Music Project where he guides children in troubled neighborhoods to bring about social change, cultivate lessons, and run ensembles.

Tyler McKisson

Tyler McKisson

viola

Tyler McKisson is a 26-year-oldorchestral and freelance violist originally from Arvada, Colorado. He has recently received an Artist Diploma from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a Diversity Fellow where he regularly performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. McKisson received a Master’s degree in viola performance at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance at the University of Northern Colorado with honors. McKisson’s musical career started at age ten when he joined his school’s string orchestra program and at age fourteen, he began his studies under his first private instructor, Brian Cook. McKisson has also studied under Christopher Luther, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Erika Eckert, and Catharine Carroll Lees. He has played with several American orchestras including the Cheyenne Symphony with tenure, Atlanta Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Aspen Conducting Academy.

Camille Jones

Camille Jones

violin

A passionate collaborator and advocate for diversity in the arts, Camille has worked with various festival orchestras and chamber groups, including the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI + F), Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Next Festival of Emerging Artists.

As a 2019 Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellow, she has helped commission works and curate a professional development workshop for K-12 students in Prince George’s County, Maryland.This project piloted what is now the K12 New Music Initiative, a commissioning project to expand the repertoire of K12 orchestras with music by BIPOC composers. In the Fall of 2018, she curated Voices Unheard, a concert series at UMD that celebrated works by women composers and composers of color. In addition, she had the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed cello professor Anthony Elliott for a concert series at the Kerrytown Concerthouse titled Passing the Torch in 2021 and 2022. Camille is establishing herself as a freelance artist in the Michigan area as well, having performed for singer Michael Bublé, rapper Big Sean and Darren Criss. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles as well as the Sphinx Overture program in Detroit.

Camille received her B.M. in Violin Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, having studied under Danielle Belen.

Daphine Henderson

Daphine Henderson

bass

Daphine Henderson, a double bassist and vocalist in the DC metro area, completed her Master’s Degree in Double Bass Performance at the University of Maryland College Park in Spring 2023, where she also received two Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Performance with concentrations in Double Bass and Soprano Voice in Spring ’20. She was the first black woman to earn a Master’s Degree in Double Bass Performance at University of Maryland and the third black woman to receive a graduate degree in strings. Teaching herself the double bass at age 12, Daphine became extremely involved in music through her high school career, ranging from performing with the Maryland Senior All State Orchestra to being the drum major of her high school marching band. She is actively involved in the University of Maryland School of Music community, performing with numerous classical and wind ensembles.

Throughout her time at UMD, Daphine served as one of the ensemble assistants for the UMD Treble Choir, where she actively engaged with and lead her section. She sat as one of the student chairs and founding members of the School of Music’s IDEA Committee, which focuses on bringing diversity, accessibility, and inclusive engagement to the music community at College Park. Daphine is also a founding member of the PAGE (Project for All Gender Equality) for Bassists, where she spoke on a panel in the 2019 and 2021 International Society of Bassists conventions. Daphine teaches in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland, and is an active strings coach for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she teaches all string instruments, piano, and voice at Crescendo Studios in Falls Church, Virginia.

Daphine is taking steps in her musical career to create an impact and be an inspiration for younger musicians of color that would otherwise not have ample resources and opportunities to pursue their passion. Following the completion of her graduate degree, Daphine plans to continue establishing herself as an advocate through her performance and an arts administrator for underserved and minority musicians, while continuing to inspire others through her love for music.

Avery Robinson

Omari Imhotep Adbdul-Alim

Violin

Omari Imhotep Abdul-Alim is an accomplished violinist and educator with a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a dedicated instructor with extensive experience teaching violin to a diverse range of students, from young children to adults, in both individual and group settings.

Omari has also contributed significantly as a violin instructor and orchestral strings coach at the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood, as a member of VSO's first inaugural class of African American Fellowship.

In addition to his teaching accomplishments, Omari has an extensive performance background. He has been a substitute with VSO, New World Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, and Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. For the last year Omari has been an active performer in the San Diego area, playing with Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra, Poway Symphony Orchestra, the City Ballet of San Diego, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra and as resident violinist at First Lutheran Church of San Diego.

Omari is committed to enriching our musical education and performance landscape through his expertise and passion for music.

Avery Robinson

Avery Robinson

Cello

Avery Robinson grew up in Western Massachusetts where he was influenced by his parents’ love for jazz music. At the age of 10 he started playing piano and began learning bass when he was 12 years old. As a young musician, Avery’s passion for jazz persisted however, as he became exposed to the wonderful sounds of the symphony, his musical passion grew to include a second genre: classical music. After joining his high school orchestra, his career path was set.

Avery has studied at many top music schools such as the Eastman School of Music, The Hartt School of Music, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has graduated with honors. His teachers include Rachel Calin, Albert Laszlo, and Robert Black. Avery has been a member of the Kentucky Symphony, and most recently, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked as a substitute for the Amarillo Symphony and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. In addition to his orchestral career, Avery is also an accomplished recitalist, having performed many solo and chamber recitals at various venues such as the Chautauqua Institution and at the “Classical Revolution” Series in Cincinnati. His love for performing with others shows in his expressive and sometimes fervent style of playing.

Avery has other passions in addition to music. Firstly, he is a huge art and history buff and loves to frequent museums and galleries whenever he can. He is also a lover of sports and an avid golfer.