Photo © Chris Lee
Singaporean-born Indian conductor, George Mathew returns for his third humanitarian concert at Carnegie Hall in January 2009, as Artistic Director and Conductor of mahler for the children of AIDS, a benefit concert to raise funds and public-consciousness for pediatric AIDS and the prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) of HIV worldwide.
He made his Carnegie Hall debut in January 2006 as Artistic Director and Conductor of Beethoven's Ninth for South Asia, a benefit concert for survivors of the devastating earthquake of 2005. In January 2007, Mathew served as Artistic Director for the second concert, Requiem for Darfur, a benefit performance of the Verdi Requiem hosted by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, to aid and highlight the plight of the survivors and refugees of the ongoing conflicts in Darfur and Chad. He organized both concerts, bringing together global leaders from the musical, philanthropic, business, academic, governmental and diplomatic communities.
Mathew and the humanitarian concerts were profiled in the global media, including BBC WORLD TV and Radio, CNN International, THE WORLD on Public Radio International, the New York Times, New York magazine, Radio France, Voice of America, NY1 television, National Public Radio's Weekend Edition and Morning Edition, the Indian Express, the Pakistan Daily Times, DNA India, Musical America and Symphony magazine. He also appears as narrator and conductor in the forthcoming documentary on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Following the Ninth.
George Mathew made his conducting debut at the United Nations in October 2007 and his Brooklyn Philharmonic debut in June 2007 at the South Street Seaport in New York. Since January 2007 he has served as assistant conductor with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has served on the conducting staff at the Manhattan School of Music 2003-06 and held previous teaching positions in music theory, music appreciation, and musicianship at Amherst College, the University of Minnesota, and Tufts University where he served as Director of Orchestral Studies. His recent conducting activities have taken him to several orchestras and opera companies in the US, India, and Europe.
As co-Artistic Director of the Salon Nights series from 2002-04 at International House, New York, he produced over 35 orchestral and chamber music concerts. In July 2006, he was named President of the International House New York Area Alumni Council (NYAAC), having previously served on the Board of Trustees and as Chair of the inaugural Resident Gift Campaign. He is also a Board member of the Association of Americans for Civic Responsibility and a founding member of El Sistema New York.
George Mathew graduated in 2003 from Manhattan School of Music with the Postgraduate Diploma in Conducting after studies under Czech conductor, Zdenek Macal and George Manahan. His mentors have included Sir Colin Davis, Sergiu Comissiona, Gunther Schuller, and the distinguished American conducting pedagogue Kenneth Kiesler. He is also a magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College and an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and Duke University.
Mathew lives in Harlem, New York with his wife, Bowie Snodgrass, who is a co-founder and pastor of the Interfaith community, Faith House Manhattan.
© 2008 Mahler For The Children of AIDS
