Des Moines Symphony

Joseph Giunta, Music Director and Conductor

Joseph Giunta is a distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductor. He has conducted orchestras on four continents and is recognized as an important American conductor for his compelling interpretations of traditional as well as new music. His innovative programming skills and creative artistic leadership combined with his musical depth and boundless energy make him one of the most sought after conductors today.

Giunta is celebrating his twentieth season as Music Director of the Des Moines Symphony. These two decades represent unprecedented growth in artistic and financial areas as well as community awareness, outreach and music education.

Giunta is riding the crest of the most successful era in Des Moines Symphony history. He has transformed the orchestra into one of the best regional ensembles in the United States that continues to attract local and national attention. He held a similar position with the Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony for fourteen years.

In the last three decades, Giunta has guest conducted many of the great orchestras of the world including the Chicago Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the London Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. He has also guest conducted the orchestra of Indianapolis, Phoenix, Akron, North Carolina, Madison, Charlotte, Lake Forest, Nashville, Boise, Vermont, Bangor, Florida and Hawaii along with orchestras in Mexico, South America, Europe, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.

During the 2006-07 concert season, Giunta guest conducted the Orquesta Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro in the famed Theatro Municipal. He substituted for Kurt Masur. His two performances were sold out and he received standing ovations. He also conducted the SODRE Orchestra in Montevideo, Uruguay. One critic wrote “Giunta moves like a ballet dancer. He has a dignified and refined technique with great passion and command for the music. The orchestra sounded energized and unified under Giunta’s thoughtful and persuasive baton.”

During the 2003-04 season, the Des Moines Symphony, under Giunta’s direction, recorded live all nine Beethoven Symphonies, His discography also includes world-wide recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra featuring the music of Khachaturian and Britten and a 1994 recording with internationally renowned pianist Earl Wild. The American Record Guide said about this disc that “Wild, Giunta and the Des Moines Symphony play the music to the hilt.”

He continues to value his life-long goal of exposing as many people as possible to great classical music at all age levels. He started the Lollipop Concerts for pre-school students; Meet the Maestro programs for intermediate students and Yankee Doodle Pops, attended by over 115,000 people this past July. He also participated in the development of the Symphony Academy housed in the Temple for Performing Arts, which currently has over 400 students enrolled in music classes and ensembles.

The many honors and distinctions awarded to Joseph Giunta include the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Award for his innovative programming and commitment to new American music. He has commissioned fifteen works for the Des Moines Symphony by renowned composers Michael Torke, Lukas Foss, Libby Larsen, Adolphis Hailstork, David Ott and many others.

He has also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Simpson College, the 1984 Helen M. Thompson Award presented by the American Symphony Orchestra League to the outstanding young conductor in the USA, and the 2002 Iowa Arts Award for his contribution for excellence in musical performance throughout the world.

Giunta is a graduate of Northwestern University and studied conducting with Henry Mazer, John Paynter, William Smith and Bernard Rubenstein. He also worked with Georg Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini and Klaus Tennstedt. He has acted as stand-by conductor for many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Georg Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Charles Dutoit, Klaus Tennstedt, Erich Leinsdorf and Sir Neville Marriner.