THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2019-2020 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 series each season, including the
orchestra’s highly acclaimed Coffee series. Now in
his 20th 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. In September
of 2019, Malina was appointed music director of
the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the orchestra of the
Adirondacks, which performs for six weeks each
summer. This season, in December, he will make his
St. Louis Symphony debut. 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, Eugene, 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.
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 in 2012 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