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Donato CabreraAmerican conductor
Date of Birth: 04.02.1970
Country:  USA |
Biography of Donato Cabrera
Early Life and Education
Donato Cabrera, an American conductor, was born on February 4, 1970. He grew up in Reno, Nevada, and graduated from Reed High School in 1988, where he played the French horn in the school orchestra. He then studied at the University of Nevada, earning a Bachelor's degree in Music in 1996, and a Master's degree in Conducting from the University of Illinois in 1998.
Professional Career
Cabrera made his professional debut in 1997 at the age of 24, conducting the Reno Chamber Orchestra. The following year, he made his European debut at the Zwei Groschen Oper Summer Festival, conducting productions of "The Barber of Seville" and "Rigoletto". He studied conducting at Indiana University with Imre Pallo and David Effron, and at the Manhattan School of Music under Zdeněk Mácal. In 2002, he received the Herbert von Karajan Fellowship from the Vienna Philharmonic.
In New York, Cabrera served as the Music Director of the opera program at the Manhattan School of Music from 2001 to 2002, conducting the orchestra for performances. He also conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Juilliard School Orchestra, and worked as an assistant conductor to Zdeněk Mácal at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, where he later served as a guest conductor until 2006. He also served as a guest conductor for other musical ensembles, including the Music Academy of the West in 2003, the Norwalk Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in 2004. In the same year, Cabrera co-founded the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) and served as its Music Director in its inaugural season. He was also an assistant to James Conlon at the Spoleto Festival in 2004 and the Ravinia Festival in 2005.
In December 2005, Cabrera made his debut at the Portland Opera with Benjamin Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia". In the 2005-2006 season, he joined the San Francisco Opera and conducted orchestra rehearsals for several productions, including the world premiere of John Adams' opera "Doctor Atomic", and remained with the company until 2008. In May 2006, he made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Opera at the "Opera in the Gardens" concert, followed by productions of "Die Fledermaus" in October 2006, "Don Giovanni" in June 2007, "Die Zauberflöte" and "Tannhäuser" in October 2007. In March 2008, Cabrera made his debut at the Berkeley Opera, conducting "L'elisir d'amore".
Symphonic Career
Cabrera's symphonic career developed alongside his work in opera. In the spring of 2008, he conducted Brahms' "Symphony No.1" with the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra and returned in the 2008-2009 season. In the same year, he made his South American debut, conducting a production of "Madama Butterfly" with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción in Chile. In April 2009, he made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony, and in September of the same year, he joined the orchestra as its Resident Conductor and Music Director of the Youth Orchestra. In December of the same year, he also made his debut with the San Francisco Ballet, conducting "The Nutcracker". Thus, Cabrera became one of five conductors to have worked with all three major musical organizations in San Francisco.
Personal Life
Cabrera is married to Niloufar Talebi, an Iranian-American writer, translator, and theater artist.
