SEBRINA MARIA ALFONSO, MUSIC DIRECTOR
Sebrina Maria Alfonso made her New York debut conducting the American Symphony Orchestra at the finals of the Stokowski International Competition in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. The audience greeted this prize-winner with a standing ovation following her performance and pronounced her the clear winner in the audience poll announced at the end of the proceedings.
New York reviewer Bill Zakariasen, in his Westsider article, wrote “…Sebrina Maria Alfonso [is] a dynamic, commanding Maestro with plenty of orchestral experience. Throughout, she was a confident, coherent leader displaying total freedom of expression and phrasing. The orchestra played flawlessly for her, and the audience gave her the only bravos we heard all evening.” Indeed The New York Times reported, “Ms. Alfonso was overwhelmingly favored by the audience.”

Following an appearance with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Maestro Alfonso’s work was described as “…Alfonso…ushered her audience into chambers of fantasy, imagery and feeling – elements essential to fine music-making. This is the way conducting used to be.” (San Jose Mercury News)

In 2002, Ms. Alfonso became the first Cuban American conductor invited to conduct Cuba’s premier orchestra where she receives standing ovations with standing room only concerts. Ms. Alfonso continues a relationship with that orchestra and has traveled to Cuba on at least four other occasions.

Other orchestras Ms. Alfonso has appeared as guest conductor with are the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Cuba, the San Jose Symphony, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Prague Radio Symphony, the Orchestra de Rús in Sienna, Italy, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Missouri Symphony Society, the Women's Philharmonic, and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra. And on the lighter side she was asked by the Tourist and Development Council for the State of Florida to conduct an Underwater Concert for over 400 divers, which received recognition world wide.

Prominent performers with whom she has worked include Robert McDuffie, Sharon Isbin, Elmar Oliveira, Nicolette Benedetti, Awadagin Pratt, Natasha Paremski and Jeffrey Chappell among others. With her national reputation continuing to expand, Sebrina has been the recipient of feature stories on CBS radio news, CNN, the AP Press, MS Magazine (New York), Deco Drive and Miami News (ABC) and has been reported in Reuters.

Ms. Alfonso is an advocate for American composers and it is this commitment that has seen her organize group commissions for various orchestras and has recorded works of James Grant under the MMC label of Boston with the Prague Radio Symphony. She is also a featured conductor with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra of American Composers. During the summers at the Conductors Institute, Sebrina held fellowships and was invited to perform several world premieres, including her own composition ‘Freedom Crossing’, a work which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Mariel Cuban boat-crossing in which thousands risked their lives to gain their freedom.

Born and raised in Key West, Florida, Ms. Alfonso has had an intense desire to bring orchestra music to the Key West Community. In July 1997, Ms. Alfonso presented a plan to the arts community in Key West, outlining the educational and cultural value of an orchestra to the community. The 1998-1999 concert season was the realization of that effort with six successful concerts over three weekends, and in addition, six concerts for school children.