Maestro Donald Portnoy

Donald Portnoy is universally recognized as one of America’s most dynamic and inspiring conductors. A native of Philadelphia PA, he is a graduate of The Juilliard School, receiving his MA from Catholic University and his DMA from Peabody Conservatory. For many years he was music director and conductor of the Pittsburgh Opera Theater and the Pittsburgh Civic Symphony, and conducted for the Hollybush Opera, Pittsburgh Chamber Opera, and the Columbia Lyric Opera.

Maestro Portnoy earned fame as a guest conductor with the orchestras of Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Baltimore, with orchestras in France and Germany, and with the Pomorska Philharmonic in Poland, the Beijing Central Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Seoul National Symphony. For the past sixteen seasons he has been music director and conductor of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra.

An accomplished violinist, Portnoy founded the popular American Arts Trio, which has toured extensively in the United States, Europe and South America. He also appeared recently as violin soloist with the Amabile Chamber Orchestra in Taejon, South Korea.

Dr. Portnoy holds the Ira McKissick Koger Endowed Chair for the Fine Arts at the University of South Carolina. He is the founder and managing director of the Conductors Institute of South Carolina, whose participants come from all parts of the US and abroad to attend his annual summer sessions in Columbia.

The Transylvania community is very pleased to welcome Maestro Portnoy as the new Artistic Director/Conductor of the Brevard Philharmonic.