Hailed as "a rising star" by the Chicago press, Raffaele Ponti continues to appear with prominent orchestras around the country and Europe. Recent seasons have included return engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphony and Austin Symphony along with debuts at the Erie Philharmonic, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Paducah Symphony, the New York All-State Orchestra and the Kentucky All-State Orchestra. Other recent engagements have seen Mr. Ponti appear with the Elgin, Billings, Utica, Schenectady and Southern Finger Lakes symphonies. In Europe, he has performed with the orchestras of Sofia, Varna, Pescara, Siena, the Teatro Lirico d’europe and the Italia Konzert Opera International, Italy’s largest touring Opera Company.

While maintaining his position as Music Director of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra in New York, the 2011/12 season sees Raffaele Ponti beginning his second year as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra.

Raffaele is passionate about music and conducting and that passion shines through when he steps onto the podium, a living embodiment of ‘Connecting People to the Symphony.' A dynamic personality with excellent people skills makes Ponti a favorite with everyone, orchestra, audience, board members and sponsors, and his commitment to excellence is evident throughout his performances. It for these reasons that Raffaele was the winner of the Mario Gusella International Conductors Competition in Pescara, Italy, and awarded the Cleveland Institute of Music; Bernard Adelstein Award, The Cleveland Institute of Music; Artist Diploma, and the Italian Musician of the Year Award, from the Sons of Italy.

Raffaele Ponti’s deep knowledge of repertoire and resourcefulness reflects his outstanding and innovative programming that has become synonymous with collaborations with world class artists David Kim, Allen Vizzutti, David Halen, Michael Ludwig, Juana Zayas, Philippe Quint, Elena Urioste, Ettore Nova, and Ambra Vespasiani. POP artists, Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Robert Goulet, Eartha Kitt, Eddie Fisher, Tony Martin, Shields & Yarnell, Jimmy Dorsey, Lawrence Welk and Les Brown.

Raffaele’s musical studies began on violin, piano and trumpet. By age 17, he was performing in the trumpet section of the Rochester Philharmonic and two years later was asked to play assistant principal trumpet to Bernard Adelstein at the Cleveland Orchestra. He has worked with conducting greats Lorin Maazel, Yoel Levi, David Zinman and Sir Colin Davis. He studied conducting in Rome, Italy with Maestro Giuseppe Sinopoli and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

In his free time Raffaele enjoys spending time with his wife, Canadian Pianist, Isabelle Aubin and their wonderful little violinist, Sofia.