Biography: Paul Ferington
Paul Ferington, hailed as a “distinguished local Guest Conductor” by the
Buffalo News, is in his 23rd year as a member of the conducting staff for
the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
During this time, he has conducted the Philharmonic in over 400 concerts at
many and varied locations around Western New York, Northern Pennsylvania,
Southern Ontario, and at Kleinhans Music Hall.
A graduate in Orchestral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music
at the University of Cincinnati, he was a conducting student of Max Rudolph,
Robert Shaw, and Thomas Schippers. He has been a Guest Conductor of the
Orchestra of Liege, Belgium, and has traveled internationally as a recital
accompanist. He has served as coach/ accompanist for opera legends
Kathleen Battle, Barbara Daniels, and Tom Fox, as well as rehearsal pianist
for conductors Yehudi Menuhin, Erich Kunzel, Robert Shaw, James Levine, and
Cincinnati May Festival Chorus. As a conductor his operatic repertoire is
wide ranging, from “pastorals” of Daniel Purcell and Cavalli, to
contemporary works of Ravel, Menotti, and Floyd. He is a frequent Guest
Conductor with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, as well as area
All-State Festivals around Western New York.
In 2002, Paul served as Conductor for the Orchestra Musicians’ Concert of
Commemoration in tribute to the victims of September 11, with the concert
hailed by the Buffalo News as one of the Top 10 Classical performances of
the year in Western New York.
Maestro Ferington was the recipient of a Rotary International Foundation
Group Study Exchange to Israel, and the Beaux Arts Award for Contributions
to the Arts given by the Niagara Council of the Arts. Over the years,
Maestro Ferington has led the Philharmonic’s major Educational and Family
outreach programs. He and the Orchestra were honored by St. Mary’s School
for the Deaf for the Orchestra’s annually donated Holiday Concert presented
at the School.
He served as Interim Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and he
continues to serve as a member of the Orchestra’s Board of Trustees and
Chorus’s Board of Trustees.
Maestro Ferington is Professor Emeritus from the Niagara campus of
SUNY, and in May 2005 was awarded not only the State University of New York
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, but also the OperaBuffs of
Western New York Educator of the Year Award. During his 32 years as an
academic educator and administrator, Maestro Ferington served in major
supervisory roles as Division Chair of Fine Arts and as Vice-President for
Academic and Student Affairs. In this capacity he supervised, and was
responsible for, 425 full and part-time faculty, along with support and
clerical staff. In his frequent role as Acting College President, he worked
closely with Boards of Trustees, Curriculum Advisory Committees, external
evaluation teams, Middle States Accreditations, and all internal governance
and collective bargaining constituents.
For the 2005-2006 Orchestra season, Maestro Ferington inaugurated the
Philharmonic’s highly successful
SYM 101-102 Series of Music Appreciation lectures for adults, and for the
2007-2008 season he expands this series with additional presentations now
known as
BPOvation Lectures. His Summer 2008 conducting responsibilities
include BPO Parks and Artpark performances.
For more information, please contact us at 1-866-423-4058, or email us at info@druminar.com.
Join our mailing list for information on new training offerings and a schedule of events.