Carlo Ponti Jr. (born 29 December 1968)[1] is an Italian orchestral conductor working in the United States. He is the son of late film producer Carlo Ponti Sr.[2] and Italian actress Sophia Loren, and the older brother of film director Edoardo Ponti.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Ponti worked at the Conductor's Institute in Connecticut, under the direction of Harold Farberman from 1994–96, worked with Mehli Mehta, Zubin Mehta, and Andrey Boreyko in Los Angeles from 1997-99, and furthered his musical studies in Austria at the Vienna Musikhochschule from 1999 to 2001 under Leopold Hager and Erwin Acel.[3]
He has guest conducted internationally and was the recipient of various awards for fostering the growth of young musical talent through music education. Ponti has been associate conductor of the Russian National Orchestra from 2000 to 2018 and was music director and principal conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony from 2001 to 2013.[3] In 2013 he founded the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, an ensemble emphasizing music's educational value of which he is artistic and music director. The Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra is currently performing its ninth concert season (2023–2024) in Los Angeles.[4]
Ponti has released two recordings with the Russian National Orchestra on the Pentatone label and his work and performances have been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC/Universal, NPR, PBS, ORF, Sky News, Spectrum, KTLA, Fox News, Leonard Lopate, Dennis Miller, Symphony Magazine, Classical KUSC, the Associated Press, American Public Media's Performance Today and America's Music Festivals.[citation needed]
Listed alphabetically
Listed alphabetically
