Women’s Chamber announces Orchestrating Leadership protege

The Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) will host the Orchestrating Leadership event at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8 at the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Boettcher Concert Hall, 1000 14th St. in Denver, CO.  A luncheon follows the dress rehearsal from 12 to 1:30 p.m. p.m. at Kevin Taylor’s Restaurant at the Opera House.

The event is $35 for members, $45 for non-members.  Attendees can register for the event online at https://cwcc.org/.  Online registration closes at 5 p.m. on Oct. 5.  The premier sponsor for the event is Denver Water.

Since 2003, the CWCC has sponsored Orchestrating Leadership, which includes a “behind the scenes” glimpse of the Colorado Symphony in action with Conductor Laureate Marin Alsop tutoring the recipient of the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship in a private rehearsal.  A luncheon follows the dress rehearsal where guests have the opportunity to interact with Alsop and the recipient.

Alsop founded the Fellowship in 2002 with the vision of creating a program to foster and encourage women studying or training to be orchestral conductors.  The Fellowship is a unique opportunity for young women conductors to immerse themselves in the art and business of performing classical music under the leadership of Alsop, the first female music director of a major American orchestra.

Prior to the event, the recipient attends workshops hosted by Chamber business members that will help her move forward in her career.
The 2009 Fellowship recipient is Mihaela Cesa-Goje of Romania.  Cesa-Goje will work with Alsop and other conductors in coaching sessions, rehearsals and concerts throughout the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons.  Cesa-Goje will receive feedback from orchestral musicians and community leaders during her weeks with these various orchestras.  She is also slated to conduct the opening work on Oct. 11, 2009 in a subscription concert series with Alsop and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.  Cesa-Goje will also receive an honorarium.

About Mihaela Cesa-Goje:
Mihaela Cesa-Goje was born in 1979 in Satu Mare, Romania. At the age of six, she began studying piano.  She earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Gh Dima Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, where she focused on orchestral and choral conducting with Florentin Mihaescu, graduating “cum laude.”

 Cesa-Goje has been the recipient of several conducting prizes and awards. In 2003 she received the “Sandor Vegh Prize” by the Romanian Mozart Society for an outstanding performance of Mozart’s “Der Schauspiele Direktor” at the Cluj National Opera, Romania. In 2005, she completed her Conducting Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was awarded the Irene Burcher Prize. In 2009, she was selected as one of the three young Romanian conductors to debut at the Romanian Athenaeum, the most important concert hall in Romania.

Cesa-Goje is currently Principal Conductor of the Targu Mures International Classical Guitar Festival and has appeared as guest conductor of the Transylvania State Philharmonic, Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic, Oradea Philharmonic and the Camerata Euroart Orchestra.  She is a champion of contemporary music and has been involved in the presentation of many world premieres by Romanian composers.

The 2009-2010 season includes her debut with the Sibiu Philharmonic and Nae Leonard Orchestra, as well as her new position as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Camerata Euroart in Satu Mare.