DR. GLENN BLOCK is in his 27th year as the Director of Orchestras and Opera and Professor of Conducting at Illinois State University. Born in Brooklyn, Dr. Block was educated at the Eastman School of Music. He also received his Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego. From 1972 - 1974, he was Music Director of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and from 1968 - 1974; he served as Principal Double Bass of the San Diego Symphony and Opera Orchestras. Prior to coming to Illinois in the fall of 1990, Dr. Block served for 15 years as Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at the Conservatory of Music of the University of Missouri - Kansas City and Music Director of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. From 1983 - 2007, he led the Kansas City Youth Symphony program to being one of the largest and most recognized youth symphony programs in the country. A frequent guest conductor, he has appeared in 42 states with all-state and professional orchestras in the United States, Europe, South America and Asia.

Dr. Block has served on the faculty of the National Music Camp at Interlochen as Resident Conductor of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and at the Interlochen Arts Academy as Visiting Conductor. In addition, he has served as Music Director of the Summer Festival Orchestra at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado.

 

Dr. Block has been widely recognized as a teacher of conducting, performing master classes throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Asia. An active researcher, he has been the recipient of numerous Illinois State University, University of Missouri and National Endowment of the Humanities grants that have resulted in critical editions of the orchestral music of Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives and George Gershwin. In 1985, he was appointed Research Consultant to the Orchestra Library Information Service of the American Symphony Orchestra League, where responsibilities included the organization of critical sources and errata information for the orchestral repertoire housed in a national database in Washington, D.C. He has served as a member of the national Board of Directors of the Conductors Guild of America, representing over 1,000 professional conductors, and the Board of Directors of the American Symphony Orchestra League.

 

Foreign guest-conducting have included residencies at the Fountainebleau Conservertoire in France, Spain, Canada, Colombia, Estonia, Russia, Italy and South America. Dr. Block led the Youth Symphony of Kansas City on three international tours to Spain (1992), Canada (1996) and Italy (2000) and three national tours to Chicago, St. Louis and New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Youth Symphony of Kansas City was invited by MENC to be the broadcast orchestra for the 1995 World’s Largest Concert and to perform at the 1996 MENC annual convention.

 

Since 2012, he has annually toured in South America with concerts in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Additional foreign-conducting include Italy, Vietnam and China. In the fall of 2015, made his conducting debut at the Teatro Colón, with additional guest-conducting in Salta and Mar del Plata, Argentina.

 

In the summer of 2019, from May - August, Maestro Block undertook an international tour to Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Italy conducting 9 different International orchestras and leading 5 international conducting seminars.

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1) May 14 - June 1, 2019 - Posadas, Misiones ARGENTINA

           Grilliltos Sinfonicos - Concierto y Seminario in

                 Direccion

           Orquesta del Teatro de Conocimiento

2) June 4-5 - San Miguel, Ezeisa ARGENTINA

           Festival Orquesta and Seminario in Direction

3) June 6-10 - Orquesta de la Ciudad de Asuncion (OCMA)

           Asuncion PARAGUAY

4) June 18-21 - Festiva Internacional IGUAZU IN CONCIERTO

           Iguazu, Brazil/Paraguay

5) June 21 - Orquesta de la Policia Nacional

          Asuncion PARAGUAY

6) July 1-3 - Sao Paolo BRAZIL Alpha Seminario in Direccion

7) July 8-22 - Londrina BRAZIL International Festival in Music, Music Director Camerata Orquesta, Seminario in Direccion

8) July 23 - August 1 - Guadiagrele ITALIA Opera Festiva, conducting Monteverdi opera

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