Julien Benichou, Music Director

Julien Benichou, Music Director of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony is also Music Director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Benichou founded and directed the Montpellier Young Orchestral Ensemble in France. He has also been Music director of several choral groups such as the Martigues Choir in Martigues, France.

Previously Maestro Benichou was an assistant conductor with the Hopkins Symphony, the Columbia Orchestra, The Peabody Singers, The Baltimore Opera Company, The Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and associate conductor of the Hot Springs Music Festival in Arkansas. He was also the director of the Pre-College Chamber orchestra at the Juilliard School. He is a regular guest conductor for Towson New Music at Towson University.

Beginning his studies in the conservatories of Marseille, St Maur and Rueil-Malmaison as well as the Schola Cantorum in Paris, he continued at Northwestern University, Yale University and the Peabody Conservatory receiving his graduate degree in conducting. His teachers included Roland Hayrabedian, Jean-Sebastien Bereau, Pol Mule, Georges Boeuf and Pierre Doury in France.

During his studies in the United States his primary teachers were Victor Yampolski, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Markand Thakar and Gustav Meier. Julien Benichou has actively participated in Master classes with Yuri Temirkanov, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, Kenneth Kiesler, Jorma Panula and Larry Rachleff. He is the recipient of the Prix de la Sacem in Musical Analysis and has recorded world premiere of Rudolf Haken's works for Centaur Records.

Simeone Tartaglione, Assistant Conductor

After having received a degree in piano performance, Simeone Tartaglione entered the Conservatory of Rome where he studied ten years composition with the celebrated Teresa Procaccini.

Tartaglione also holds a master's degree in Literature and musicology, while studying orchestral conducting with Bruno Aprea (Koussevinsky Award winner) receiving his diploma in 2005. In 2004, he studied conducting in New York with Harold Farberman.

Tartaglione has received numerous prizes including the Allied Arts (Denver), Le Arti (Rome), Athanór (L'Aquila), Diamond (Rome), Sikelé (Sicily), and AMA (Calabria), he was assistant conductor for Serguej Diatchenko (Karajan Competition winner) from 1996 to 2005.

While in Rome, he also was the artistic director of the Theatre Fusillo. He successfully conducted Symphonic and Operatic repertoire with orchestras from seven different countries including Italy, Spain, the United States, Russia, Romania, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Winner of audition at the University of Denver, he is currently serving as Assistant Conductor of the Lamont Symphony, the CYSO and the CYSO's chamber program, under the direction of Maestro Lawrence Golan, as well as being Musical Director for the Musical Comedy Pippin. Recently he has been appointed Assistant Conductor of Maestro Adam Flatt with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.