DePriest James- Conductor Nominate to Gramophone Hall of Fame - BIG Omission if You Missed Him

Traveled to Asia with U.S. State Department music
tour, 1962-63; made conducting debut with New York Philharmonic, 1964;
assistant conductor, New York Philharmonic, 1965-66; principal guest
conductor, Symphony of the New World, 1968-70; made European conducting
debut with Rotterdam Philharmonic, 1969; associate conductor, National
Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC), 1971-75; music director,
L'orchestre symphonique du Québec, 1976-83; conductor, Oregon Symphony
(Portland, OR), 1980-2009.

Life's Work

James DePreist, in the words of the Boston Herald,
"commands attention and respect as one of America's foremost
conductors." During a long career with the Oregon Symphony, he was the
only African American who regularly took the stage as conductor of a
major American orchestra. DePreist overcame a major hurdle
early in his career, surviving and succeeding despite the devastating
effects of a bout with polio. Regarded as one of the world's top
interpreters of classical music's Scandinavian and Russian repertory,
DePreist has conducted orchestras all over Europe and is as well known
internationally as in the United States.

DePreist was born in
Philadelphia on November 21, 1936. A major influence early in life was
his mother's sister Marian Anderson, the pioneering singer who, among
many other accomplishments, became the first African American to appear
at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1955. DePreist spent summers at
Anderson's Connecticut vacation home, and she encouraged him to pursue
music despite his initial leanings toward a law career.

Budding Career Hampered by Polio

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