Sarah Ioannides

{{Infobox musical artist

| name =Sarah Ioannides

| image =Sarah Ioannides- Headshot.jpg

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| birth_date = 2 April 1972

| birth_place = Canberra, Australia

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| genre = Classical

| occupation = Conductor

| instrument = Violin, Piano, French Horn

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| associated_acts = Symphony Tacoma,
Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
El Paso Symphony Orchestra,
Boston University School of Music

| website = www.sarahioannidesmusic.com

}}

Sarah Ioannides (born 1972,{{Cite web |title=Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and CSO Assistant Conductor Sarah Ioannides to receive Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation grant |url=http://www.brunowalter.org/news%20items/Cincinnati%20Symphony%20Orchestra%20Press%20Release%20Feb%202004.pdf |access-date=2023-11-16 |archive-date=3 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503021020/http://www.brunowalter.org/news%20items/Cincinnati%20Symphony%20Orchestra%20Press%20Release%20Feb%202004.pdf |url-status=usurped }} Canberra) is a British conductor, collaborator, and multimedia producer living in the United States. She is currently the music director of Symphony Tacoma, the founding artistic director of Cascade Conducting and Composing, the resident conductor of the NYO-USA, and the Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University.

Early life and education

Ioannides was born in Canberra, Australia, and grew up in England, where she was educated at Cranleigh School. {{cite web| url = https://www.cranleigh.org/sixth-form/futures/alumni/ | title = Alumni - Sixth Cranleigh| website = Cranleigh| access-date = November 8, 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230607220200/https://www.cranleigh.org/sixth-form/futures/alumni/ | archive-date = 7 June 2023 }} Her father, Ayis Ioannides, is a conductor and composer of Greek Cypriot ancestry{{Cite web |title=GoUpstate: Local News, Politics & Sports in Spartanburg, SC |url=https://www.goupstate.com/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Spartanburg Herald Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601093159/https://www.goupstate.com/ |url-status=live }} Her mother, Gwyneth Woollard, is of Scottish ancestry, studying violin, piano, and French horn from an early age, she entered Oxford University on an instrumental scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Music degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She completed a Diploma in Conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music on a Fulbright scholarship and studied in St. Petersburg on a Presser Foundation Scholarship. She earned a Master of Music in Conducting from the Juilliard School, where she was assistant conductor to Otto-Werner Mueller.

Early career

While at Oxford, Ioannides took her first position as Music Director at the age of 19 with the Oxford Philharmonia and Music Director of Oxford University Opera, leading the European premiere of Stephen Paulus's The Woodlanders.

Serving as assistant conductor and productor coordinator to Tan Dun from 1999 to 2003, Ioannides was responsible for orchestra preparation, directing choirs, and coordinating productions on international tours with him. From 2002 to 2004, she was assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2003 and 2006, she conducted in the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series.{{Cite web |title=Notable Events and Performers |url=https://naumburgconcerts.org/notable-events-and-performers |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Naumburg Orchestral Concerts |language=en-US}}

Music Director Positions

From 2005 to 2011, Ioannides was music director of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. During her tenure, she expanded the contemporary repertoire of the orchestra and directed and commissioned films for live orchestral multimedia performances.

Ioannides also became music director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005, serving in that position until 2017.{{Cite web |title=News |url=https://www.chapmanculturalcenter.org/latest-news/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Chapman Cultural Center |language=en |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821230358/https://www.chapmanculturalcenter.org/latest-news/ |url-status=live }}[https://www.spartanburgphilharmonic.org/files/files/SPO-SI-AnnouncementPressReleaseAug7.pdf "SPO Music Director and Conductor Sarah Ioannides Announces Departure in 2017"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925132153/https://www.spartanburgphilharmonic.org/files/files/SPO-SI-AnnouncementPressReleaseAug7.pdf |date=25 September 2017 }} (Press release). Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, August 7, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2016. During her time there, she focused on expanding the orchestra's partnerships with local school and arts organizations, School of the Deaf and the Blind, Ballet Spartanburg, and Spartanburg Day School, and launched a new chamber music series featuring the orchestra's principal players as well as co-commissioning a new percussion concerto by Australian composer Sean O'Boyle for Evelyn Glennie.

In 2014, Symphony Tacoma announced the appointment of Ioannides as its next music director, the first female conductor to be named to the post, with an initial contract of 5 years.{{cite news | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504160058/https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article25885840.html | title=Tacoma in the forefront with its first female conductor | work=The Tacoma News-Tribune | author=Rosemary Ponnekanti | date=2014-10-11 | access-date=2021-05-04}} During the 2020–2021 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ioannides developed extensive digital content, including the production of Symphony Tacoma's 'Encore Series', a curated selection of online performances founded on work from her previous six seasons with the orchestra. Following an initial contract extension through the 2023–2024 season, in February 2024, Symphony Tacoma announced a further extension of Ioannides' contract as music director through the 2028-2029 season.{{cite press release | title=Symphony Tacoma Announces Contract Extension of Music Director Sarah Ioannides | url=https://symphonytacoma.org/20938-2/ | publisher=Symphony Tacoma | date=28 February 2024 | accessdate=2025-04-28}} However, in March 2025, the orchestra announced that Ioannides is to conclude her tenure as music director of Symphony Tacoma at the close of the 2025-2026 season, two seasons earlier than the February 2024 announcement time.{{cite press release | title=Symphony Tacoma Music Director Sarah Ioannides Will Step Down Following 2025-26 Season | url=https://symphonytacoma.org/sarah-ioannides-2026/ | publisher=Symphony Tacoma | date=6 March 2025 | accessdate=2025-04-28}}

In 2018, Ioannides became the founding artistic director of the Cascade Conducting Institute, a week-long international masterclass held in partnership with Symphony Tacoma. Since 2016, she has coached conductors and led new music performances for the Curtis Institute of Music.

Advocacy

Ioannides is an advocate for new music, with a particular focus on collaborative projects and multimedia projects. She has conducted over forty world premieres, including works by Stephen Paulus, Marie Samuelsson, Hannah Lash, Richard Danielpour, Dario Marianelli, and Claudio Constantini. Bailey, Michael (May 23, 2008). "Lara St. John/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarah Ioannides: Hindson, Corigliano, Liszt/Kennedy/St. John". All about jazz. Retrieved on January 23, 2021.

In her work with orchestras around the world, she is a spokesperson for more diverse composers and guest artists, as well as supporting emerging women and minority conductors in her role as coach and mentor.

Ioannides's work is also marked by her collaborations beyond the music industry. A notable example of such cross-sector projects is "Fire Mountain" (2017), a collaboration with the National Parks Association, Tacoma's Museum of Glass, and Hilltop Artists.{{Cite web |last=Yellen |first=Gigi |date=2016-06-26 |title=Homage To Mount Rainier Earns NEA Grant For Tacoma Symphony |url=https://www.nwpb.org/2016/06/26/homage-to-mount-rainier-earns-nea-grant-for-tacoma-symphony/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Northwest Public Broadcasting |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822214847/https://www.nwpb.org/2016/06/26/homage-to-mount-rainier-earns-nea-grant-for-tacoma-symphony/ |url-status=live }} The piece was first presented in a double premiere with music by Daniel Ott and film by Derek Klein.

In 2016, Ioannides produced a new multimedia art film to accompany Milhaud's Creation du Monde, directed by Brad McCombs, using artworks selected from the Cincinnati Art Museum, international collections, and Ioannides' own paintings. This film was also shown at Cincinnati's Summermusik Festival.

Recordings

Ioannides's first commercial recording was released in 2008. She conducted violinist Lara St. John and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in works by John Corigliano, Matthew Hindson, and Franz Liszt. Bailey, Michael (May 23, 2008). "Lara St. John/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarah Ioannides: Hindson, Corigliano, Liszt/Kennedy/St. John". All about Jazz. Retrieved on January 23, 2021.

In 2019, she recorded works by Marie Samuelsson, including the Love Trilogy and Airborne Lines and Rumbles, with the Malmö Symphony and Nordic Chamber Orchestra.

As part of the 2021 Cascade Conducting program, Ioannides enabled six composers in the Pacific Northwest to have their works performed and recorded by Symphony Tacoma musicians and conducted by young international conductors.

Honors and awards

Ioannides and her work have been recognized through a multitude of honors and awards, including:

2021 LAO Futures Fund supporting "Eternal Light"
2020 NEA "Composer in the Community" with David Ludwig
2018 Women's Philharmonic Advocacy for Hannah Lash's "In Hopes of Finding the Sun"
2017 Delegate at the World Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi
Spartanburg County Proclamation: "Sarah Ioannides Day"
2016 NEA Daniel Ott's "Fire-Mountain" with Symphony Tacoma
2016: Norman Lebrecht's "Woman Conductors: The Power List"
2016 Tacoma City Proclamation: "Sarah Ioannides Day"
NEA ArtWorks Spartanburg
Women Conductors Grant from LAO
National Endowment for the Arts Panelist for the U.S. Government
Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor Chair by the Bruno Walter Foundation
JoAnn Falletta Award for most promising female conductor
Leed Conducting Competition Kenneth Tyghe Memorial Prize/Audience Prize

Personal life

Ioannides married Scott Hartman, a trombonist and professor at Yale University, in 2005. Scott Robbins (June 27, 2009) "Father and daughter make for an invigorating show". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved October 25, 2009. They have three children. The family spent a decade dividing their time amongst three states while Ioannides was music director of the El Paso Symphony, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphony Tacoma.{{cite web | author=Rosemary Ponnekanti | title=Think you're busy? Try juggling 2 orchestras, 3 cities, and 3 kids. | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822214846/https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article75859647.html | work=The Tacoma News-Tribune | date=2016-05-10 | access-date=2021-08-18}} Ioannides is a distance runner and has run several half marathons. "Symphony Tacoma's Music Director and Executive Director to Run Tacoma City Marathon". The Suburban Times. Retrieved August 18, 2021. Ioannides is a descendant of the Maltese family and the eighth generation of violinists, composers, and conductors, which includes composer Antonio Nani.

References

External links

[http://www.sarahioannidesmusic.com Official website of Sarah Ioannides]
[https://symphonytacoma.org/meet-us/music-director/ Symphony Tacoma page on Sarah Ioannides]
[http://www.classicalcdreview.com/MC245.html Classical CD Review, June 2008, review of CD conducted by Ioannides]

{{succession box | title=Music Director, El Paso Symphony Orchestra | before=Gürer Aykal | years=2005–2011 | after=Bohuslav Rattay}}

{{succession box | title=Music Director, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra | before=William Scott | years=2005–2017 | after=Stefan Sanders}}

{{succession box | title=Music Director, Symphony Tacoma | before=Harvey Felder | years=2014–present | after=incumbent}}

Category:Living people

Category:1972 births

Category:Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford

Category:Australian conductors (music)

Category:Australian expatriates in the United States

Category:Australian people of Greek Cypriot descent

Category:Australian people of Scottish descent

Category:British expatriates in the United States

Category:British people of Australian descent