Jay Friedman

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Jay Friedman, Music Director

Jay Friedman has led The S/OP&RF in seven large-scale choral works with the orchestra at Chicago’s prestigious Symphony Center.

2010 – MAHLER Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)
2012 – BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis
2014 – Dona Nobis Pacem, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, and MOZART Requiem
2016 – MAHLER Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection)
2018 – BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy and ORFF Carmina Burana
2023 – GROESCH Symphony No. 3 (world première) and BERLIOZ Te Deum (rescheduled from 2020)
2025 – BEETHOVEN Choral Fantasy and LISZT Missa Solemnis (Chicago première)

Friedman’s conducting career has included guest appearances with orchestras around the world, including the Hawaii Symphony in a national tour of the Hawaiian Islands. In April 2005, he conducted three concerts with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome. In March 2006, he conducted the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in a public master class of MAHLER Symphony No. 5 at Symphony Center, and in May 2007, he conducted the RAI orchestra in Italy with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist. In 2012-2013, Mr. Friedman guest conducted the Louisiana Philharmonic, Berlin Staatskapelle, and Zurich opera. In June 2016 Mr. Friedman conducted the National Symphony of Mexico in BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4. In February 2017, at the invitation of Riccardo Muti, he conducted the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in Glière’s monumental Symphony No. 3, Ilya Muromets.

A newly-retired Jay Friedman was a member of the Chicago Symphony since 1962 and principal trombone since 1965. In 1996 at the invitation of Daniel Barenboim, Frieman conducted the Civic Orchestra in Act 1 of WAGNER Die Walküre, in a performance the Chicago Sun-Times called “the best Civic concert in the past 30 years.” Mr. Friedman conducted the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, in SIBELIUS Lemminkainen Suite and WAGNER Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan Suites in March of 2019. Two months later, Mr. Friedman was chosen by the members of the Chicago Symphony to conduct them in five concerts culminating in a performance of MAHLER Symphony No. 1 at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago.

Jay teaches at Chicago College of Performing Arts Conservatory of Roosevelt University and plays O’Malley Horns exclusively.