Leanna Primiani (Leanna), Composer

Biography

Composer-conductor Leanna Sterios-Primiani is a native of California.  She has just completed her DMA in composition at USC, and has studied with such noted composers and conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Peter Eötvös, Donald Crockett, Steven Stucky, Christopher Rouse, and Howard Shore.

Ms. Primiani has received many awards and performances of her music throughout the United States and Europe, including the upcoming premieres of Sirens for Concert Band in 2010, Seven Deadly Sins for sextet in 2010 as well as a solo percussion work for Dame Evelyn Glennie.  Recent performances include the premiere of Sirens for Orchestra by Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony in February 2009, scenes from her opera Truman presented at the Virginia Arts Festival in 2008, and 2008 Underwood New Music Readings participant by the American Composers Orchestra in New York. Other performances and installations of her music include Space: Music- first prize for Paraklesis for women’s choir performed by Vox Musica in Sacramento, Chaconne for Orchestra performed by the USC Symphony, sound installations for Pure: A Multi & Mixed Media Exhibition in Brighton, Massachusetts, Parada at the Herrenhaus Edenkoben (Germany), performed by Ensemble Aventure Freiburg and recorded for the SWR (German radio), Variations for solo piano performed at the June In Buffalo New Music Festival, Parada at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen Colorado, Searching for M with Help from a Large Orchestra at the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California and Heterotic E8xE8 and Type I Superstring for Small Ensemble and Live Electronics at the CCMIX (Centre de Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis) in Paris, France.

As a conductor, Ms. Primiani currently serves as conductor for the California Opera Association, music director for the Central California Ballet, Music Director for LA Opera’s Demonstration Tour of Figaro’s American Adventure, associate conductor for LA Opera’s production of Judas Maccabeus under Maestro James Conlon, as well as a cover conductor for the National Symphony.  Before her appointment, she was one of four conductors selected from around the country to participate in The National Conducting Institute, and conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in May, 2006. She has served as music director of the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet in Fort Worth, Texas and has conducted many orchestras throughout the US and Europe including the Ensemble Aventure Freiburg (Germany), National Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Dallas Opera Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, Santa Rosa Symphony and Pasadena Symphony, among others.  Ms. Primiani’s repertoire is vast and ranges from the standard symphonic and operatic repertoire specializing in the Twentieth Century symphonic, operatic and ballet masterpieces.

Ms. Primiani has received several honors including winner of the ACCBDA Emerging Composers grant 2009, ACO Underwood New Music Readings in NYC, first prize at the St. Paul Choral Competition, recipient of the prestigious USC Leonard Bernstein Music Scholar Award as well as the USC Arts Grant two years running.  Ms. Primiani has participated in several prestigious festivals and master classes including the Workshop for Young Conductors and Composers (as both composer as conductor) sponsored by the Peter Eötvos International Institute, the Susan and Ford Schumann Film Scoring Program and the Schumann Center for Compositional Studies with a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, the Cabrillo Composer’s Project at the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Music, SYNERGY! Composer-conductor workshop sponsored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Centre de Creation Musicale Iannis Xenakis Summer Intensive in Electronic Music in Paris, France, and the International Master Course in Symphonic Conducting with Neeme Järvi and was one of 10 participants chosen worldwide to participate in the Kiril Kondrashin Master class in The Netherlands.   She also has the distinction to be the first female to receive a Ford Foundation Conducting Talent Grant.  

She is married and lives with her husband, Marc Primiani, in Santa Monica and recently gave birth to her daughter Dominic Vasilia.  Please visit her website at www.leannaprimiani.net or www.myspacemusic.com/leannaprimianimusic. Insert Image