 |
Called "the Paganini of the Harmonica" by The Los Angeles Times, ROBERT BONFIGLIO has dazzled audiences at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Gewandhaus, Teatro Colón, Teatro Massimo, Teatro Amazonas, Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center and throughout the world with his ability to play : Harmonica Concertos and turn right around and “sizzle” on the 'Blues'.
Robert has appeared on “CBS Sunday Morning,” “CBS Morning Show,” “Live with Regis and Kathy Lee,” “Larry King,” "The Jim Bohannon Show" and Garrison Keillor’s “American Radio Show.” He has had feature stories and reviews in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune.
BONFIGLIO performed recent debuts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony at Kennedy Center, and the Louisville Orchestra. This season includes the Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto with the Galicia Symphony under Enrique Diemecke plus a tour with Musica Vitae in Sweden and the Rockford Symphony in the USA.
This season also includes a Lincoln Center performance of the Henry Cowell Harmonica Concerto with the American Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Leon Botstein. He performed the world premiere of the Henry Cowell Harmonica Concerto with the Brooklyn Philharmonic under the great Lucas Foss and the West Coast premiere with David Alan Miller and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also premiered works by Rodrigo, Arnold Black, Richard Einhorn, Eric Knight and Sir George Martin.
Robert Bonfiglio has appeared as a soloist with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, John Williams and the Boston Pops on PBS, John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, with Fabio Luisi and the MDR Orchestra at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Theo Alcantara and the Buenos Aires Philharmonic at the Teatro Colón.
At City Center he performed Vilem Tausky's "Concertino" for Harmonica and Chamber Orchestra while ballet stars Cynthia Gregory and Fernando Bujones danced the pas de deux choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett.
BONFIGLIO has been a concerto soloist with leading orchestras around the world including the Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestra of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Leipzig M D R-Radio Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Madrid Radio Television Española Orchestra, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, the Estonia National Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, the Mexico City Philharmonic, as well as the Milwaukee Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Utah Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
He has worked under such great conductors as Fabio Luisi, Fabio Mechetti, Giancarlo Guerrero, Lucas Foss, Eri Klas and Pinchas Steinberg, Gerard Schwarz, Lucas Vis, Jorge Mester, Theo Alcantara, Robert Bernhardt, JoAnn Falletta, Maximiano Valdes, Andrew Sewell, Bruce Ferden, Giséle Ben-dor, Christopher Wilkins, Enrique García Ascensio, Andrea Quinn, Kirk Trevor, Juan José García Caffi, Peter Jaffe, Arthur Fagen, David Alan Miller and Marvin Hamlisch.
His first RCA recording, with Gerard Schwarz and the New York Chamber Orchestra, featuring the Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto, was released to critical acclaim; he has performed this Concerto over 350 times with major orchestras worldwide. Bonfiglio has recorded on the RCA, Arista, CBS, Sina Qua Non, High Harmony, and QVC Labels. He performed on the Grammy winning recording, "Ragitme."
Robert has played chamber music with Ani Kavafian, Jeffrey Solow, Milton Thomas, Colin Carr, Kenneth Cooper, Benny Kim, Evan Wilson, Nathaniel Rosen, Clare Hoffman, the Mendelssohn, Lark and Miaimi String Quartets.
ROBERT BONFIGLIO is playing contemporary music as well with American Composer, Paul Moravec, who just won the Pulitzer Prize for Composition, writing an American Harmonica Concerto for him. Lowell Liebermann is also writing a Harmonica Concerto to premiere in with the Minnesota Orchestra.
Robert Bonfiglio got his Masters degree in composition from Manhattan School of Music. He studied harmonica with Cham-ber Huang and was coached for 12 years by Andrew Lolya, the first flute of the New York City Ballet, during which time he studied the major works for harmonica and orchestra. Robert studied composition with Charles Wuorinen and Aaron Copland.
ROBERT BONFIGLIO is the Founding Director of the GRAND CANYON MUSIC FESTIVAL.
*
*
BONFIGLIO has performed Harmonica Concerti and Pops Concerts with the following orchestras:
Minnesota Orchestra
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Pittsburgh Symphony
Louisville Orchestra
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Boston Pops
The National Symphony
New York Pops
Leipzig MDR-Radio Symphony
Waco Symphony
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia
Orquesta Del Nuevo Mundo, Mexico City
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Estonia National Symphony
Hong Kong Philharmonic
Teatro Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra
Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica
Indianapolis Symphony
Edmonton Symphony
Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec
Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá
Utah Symphony
Florida Philharmonic
Brooklyn Philharmonic
Stockton Symphony
Boston Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra
Philharmonia Virtuosi
Oregon Symphony
Orquesta Sinfonica de Principado de Asturias
Grand Rapids Symphony
City of Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra
South Bend Symphony
Missouri Symphony
Wheeling Symphony
Fairbanks Symphony
Nittany Valley Symphony
Abington Symphony
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
Flagstaff Symphony
Tucson Symphony
Long Beach Symphony
Santa Barbara Symphony
Buffalo Philharmonic
Spokane Symphony
Interlochen Arts Festival Orchestra
Flagstaff Festival Orchestra
Little Orchestra Society of New York
Enid Symphony
Riverside Symphony (NY)
Queens Symphony
West Shore Symphony
Yakima Symphony
Knoxville Symphony
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia
Riverside Philharmonic
Des Moines Symphony
Cedar Rapids Symphony
Nebraska Chamber Orchestra
Meridian Symphony
Jacksonville Symphony
Baton Rouge Symphony
Abington Symphony Orchestra
Rapides Symphony
Charleston Symphony
Lake Charles Symphony
Nittany Valley Symphony
Symphony of the West Valley
Lubbock Symphony
Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra
Wurtburg Symphony
Midland Symphony
Albany Symphony (NY)
Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla
San Antonio Symphony
Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao
Charlotte Symphony
Brabant Philharmonic Orchestra
Wichita Symphony
Noordhollands Philharmonisch Orkest
Reading Symphony
Orquestra Sinfónica de Porto Alegre
Augusta Symphony
Het Gelders Orkest
Winston-Salem Symphony
Wuppertal Symphony
Great Falls Symphony
Glacier Symphony
Walla Walla Symphony
Orquesta del Nuevo Mundo
Eugene Symphony
Noord Nederlands Orkest
Lincoln Symphony
Denver Chamber Orchestra
Allentown Symphony
Nebraska Chamber Orchestra
Rogue Valley Symphony
Albany Symphony (GA)
Virginia Beach Pops
Binghamton Philharmonic
Mexico City Philharmonic
Florida Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic
Virginia Symphony
Buenos Aires Philharmonic of Teatro Colon
Madrid Radio Television Española Orchestra
New York Chamber Symphony
Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León
Puerto Rico Symphony
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Milwaukee Symphony