Marcelo Lehninger, Music Advisor of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Before dedicating his career to conducting, he studied violin and piano. Mr. Lehninger received his Bachelor’s degree from the Brazilian Conservatory of Music and Master’s degree from the Conductors Institute at Bard College in New York, where he studied conducting under Harold Farberman and composition with Laurence Wallach.  He has also participated in Master Classes with Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Moche Atzmon and Andreás Weiss.

            Mr. Lehninger placed second in the First Eleazar de Carvalho National Conducting Competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2001.  He then led the Petrobrás Symphony Orchestra on several occasions. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with many leading orchestras in South America, including the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Sao Paulo, Paraná Symphony Orchestra, Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Brazil) and the National University of Cuyo Symphony Orchestra in Mendoza, Argentina.  In the United States, he led the Conductors Institute Orchestra in 2006 and was a guest conductor for three concerts at the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Florida in 2007.

Mr. Lehninger had the honor of participating as a debut conductor in the National Conducting Institute and led the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center where he received a fantastic review in The Washington Post.  In the 2007/2008 season, Mr. Lehninger will be covering for Leonard Slatkin and Vladimir Ashkenazy in the National Symphony Orchestra’s subscription concerts at the Kennedy Center.

In the 2008/2009 season, Mr. Lehninger will tour with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and conduct concerts in South America with the pianist Nelson Freire.  In the United States he will lead the National Symphony Orchestra and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.

Most recently, Mr. Lehninger was selected by Kurt Masur to be part in the First Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship and he traveled in Europe and United States for one month as Maestro Masur’s assistant in the National of France, Gewandhaus and New York Philharmonic orchestras.

Citizen of both Brazil and Germany, Marcelo Goulart Lehninger lives with his wife Laura Anne Krech in Washington, DC.

http://www.marcelolehninger.com