THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2018-2019 15
In a wide variety of concerts, from masterworks
and grand opera to pops, Stuart Malina’s ease on
the podium, engaging personality, and insightful
interpretations have thrilled audiences and helped
to break down the barriers between performer and
listener.
In 2013, Malina was appointed principal guest
conductor of The Florida Orchestra, leading nine
concert programs each season, including the
orchestra’s highly acclaimed Coffee series. Now in
his 19th season as music director and conductor
of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Malina
was previously music director of the Greensboro
Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of
the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He made his
Carnegie Hall debut in 2007, conducting the New
York Pops in an all-Gershwin tribute including
Rhapsody in Blue, which he conducted from the
keyboard. He has recently performed with the
symphony orchestras of Fort Worth, Hawaii,
Hong Kong, New Mexico, Fresno, Charleston, and
Greensboro, as well as the Chautauqua Institution
and the Sarasota Music Festival. Malina has had
multiple engagements with the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Eastern Music
Festival, at which he conducted the world premiere
of Billy Joel’s Symphonic Fantasies for Piano and
Orchestra.
In 2017, Malina led two tours of Russia through the
American embassy in Moscow, bringing American
music to Russian audiences in seven cities. In
2008, Malina, along with several members of the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, spent 11 days
in residence at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music
in Tianjin, China, conducting the orchestra and
coaching and performing chamber music.
An accomplished pianist, Malina has impressive
credits as soloist and chamber musician. He has
performed concertos in Harrisburg, Greensboro,
Charleston, New York and Chautauqua, most often
conducting from the keyboard. As a composer and
arranger, Malina has created dozens of orchestral
works, ranging from entire pops shows to works for
symphony orchestra. His most recent composition,
Common Fanfare for an Uncommon Orchestra,
received its world premiere by the Harrisburg
Symphony Orchestra in September of 2017.
Malina’s activities also extend to Broadway. In 2003,
he won the Tony award for orchestration with Billy
Joel for the musical Movin’ Out. He has also served
as associate conductor of the national touring
company of West Side Story and as conductor of the
Charleston production of Porgy and Bess.
He has been awarded the Joanne Rogers Award
for contribution to the artistic life of Pennsylvania,
the Jump Street Spectrum Award, Lebanon Valley
College’s Founders Day Award, the Award for
Distinguished Service to the Arts from Theater
Harrisburg, and Leadership Harrisburg’s Platinum
Award for Servant Leadership.
Malina holds degrees from Harvard University, the
Yale School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of
Music, where he studied conducting with Otto-
Werner Mueller. He studied piano with Drora and
Baruch Arnon and with Keiko Sato.
He resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his
wife, Marty, and their two children, Sara and Zev.
STUART MALINA
Principal Guest Conductor
© Thomas Bruce Studio