NEW YORK TIMES Tommasini
LA FARSA AMOROSA; Lincoln Center, New York.
… ….But the star of this show was the conductor, David Wroe, who led a performance of bristling energy and sharp detail.
ANACLASSE (FRANCE)
David Wroe conducts l’Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon with Gautier Capuçon
….Led by guest conductor David Wroe, the orchestra was full of energy, but also with finesse….David Wroe and the Orchestra left a stunning impression that blossomed in the fabulous Larghetto, endowing it with an impressive power…yet respectful of the Enlightenment model…the little Gavotte that made you smile delighing the hearts of every one there…..
GRAMOPHONE Jeremy Nicholas
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Suite, Concerto in F.
L’Orchestre National de Lille/David Wroe Bruno Fontaine, piano.
TransArt label. (DDD)
….In the Porgy and Bess Suite they [David Wroe/L’Orchestre National de Lille] came into their own with an idiomatic, well recorded performance worthy of the composer.
NEW YORK TIMES Steve Smith
An unfamiliar rescue tale from a familiar composer
….Teatro Grattacielo celebrated its 15th anniversary at Avery Fisher Hall…with Il Piccolo Marat, Mascagni’s 14th opera, heard in its United State Premiere. ….The strongest impression was made by David Wroe, who drew an urgent, polished performance from the orchestra.
OPERA NEWS Eric Myers
L’Incantessimo and L’Oracolo – Avery Fisher Hall
What a difference the right conductor can make. Most of us who only knew Leoni’s verismo one-act shocker from Richard Bonynges’ 1975 Decca recording had been disappointed by the work. It seemed like a lackluster affair….That was proven November 13th when David Wroe conducted a fiery concert at Avery Fisher Hall….that forced one to make a complete reevaluation. L’Oracolo is no masterpiece, but in the right hands it can be an effective, atmospheric thriller with moments that anticipate Turandot.
BERKSHIRE EAGLE Andrew Pincus.
Tanglewood triumphs – Wroe, Yo Yo Ma highlight banner weekend.
[with the Boston Symphony Orchestra]…. The performance put new life into an old workhorse. In both the symphony [Dvorak 9th] and Barber’s “School for Scandal” Overture, which opened the program, Wroe was a passionate, imaginative advocate…. Ideas can change, the talent is there.”
ALBANY TIMES Peter Haley.
Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor, soloist delight thousands at Tanglewood.
Maestro Wroe, the assistant conductor of the BSO , has clear-cut ideas of what he wants. A finely tuned conducting style, imbued with electrifying energy, creates an aura of absolute security. There are no loose ends. Wroe details every nuance, managed to avoid being overly fussy. The results were stunning…. The BSO was nothing short of stupendous as they responded to Wroe’s demands of highly accelerated tempi, relaxing just enough between rushes, to create a feeling of breathless grandeur.
Maestro Wroe is Music Director of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Music Director of the Irish Tenors, Music Director of Orchestra Manhattan, and Principal Conductor at Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice. Past positions include Music Director of State Ballet of Missouri and resident conductor with New York City Opera. Orchestras conducted include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Columbus Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, L’Orchestre National de Lille, L’Ensemble de Paris, L’Orchestre National du Pays de La Loire, Opera de Toulon, L’Ensemble Régional de Normandie, L’Orchestre Lamoureux with cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch, Symphony Nova Scotia, Kansas City Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, New York City Ballet, Neue Brandenburg Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Das Loh-Orchester Sondershausen, Philharmonische Orchester der Stadt Heidelberg, Delaware, Harrisburg, Huntsville, De Moines Symphony, and numerous tours of Western Austria with Vorarlberg Symphony and at the Bregenz Frühlings Festival. Maestro Wroe is a preferred conductor in Asia, directing the Taiwan National Symphony, Busan Philharmonic, Shenzhen Macau, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Zhejiang, Guiyang, and Taipei and Taichung Symphony Orchestras. He was Music Director of Maryland’s Garrett Lakes Arts Summer Festival in Maryland from 2000 – 2006, and Music Director of the Kansas City Camerata from 1990-1996.
Maestro Wroe was Seiji Ozawa’s Assistant Conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, leading the Orchestra in Tanglewood (with Joshua Bell) in Boston’s Symphony Hall (with Horacio Gutierrez), collaborating with Jesse Norman’s recording of “Phraeda”, and Itzhak Perlman’s recording of Bernstein’s Serenade, and touring Europe with the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players. 2007 marked Maestro Wroe’s recording debut with L’Orchestre National de Lille on the TransArt label with pianist Bruno Fontaine, and numerous broadcast recordings, through Austrian Broadcasting Authority (ORF), with the Vorarlberg Symphony.
Maestro Wroe was Resident Conductor at Oper der Stadt Heidelberg (1998-2002), Music Director of State Ballet of Missouri, Principal Conductor at Opera Delaware (2000 – 2005), and directed the summer ‘Opera Under the Stars’ series at the 7000 seater Garden State Arts Center in NJ. From 2005-10 he was Music Director of Opera Teatro Gratticielo in NY, opened for the newly formed Fresno International Grand Opera, and served as Judge with Anna Moffo. for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Maestro Wroe, has extensive and diverse experience in cross-over genres, being the Tour Music Director of the Irish Tenors, collaborated with Kristin Chenoweth, Mannheim Steamrollers, Celtic Women, Natalie Merchant, Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Jackie Evancho and Celtic Thunder, and a return guest at Ocean City Pops Orchestra, to name but a few.
Maestro Wroe devotes considerable time to aspiring musicians. In 2014 he held a residency at Brown University Symphony Orchestra (Rhode Island) as its Interim Music Director, was Principal Conductor at N.Y. University Symphony Orchestra (2008-2011), and Director of Orchestras at Montclair State University, NJ (2000-2005). He led the Boston Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerts, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra Summer Youth Festival, given master-classes at New England Conservatory, Harvard University, Rutgers University and University of Alabama. He has served as Judge for the Music Assistance Fund administered by the League of American Orchestras, and was the Chairman of the Jury of the New Jersey MTA State Concerto Competition.
Awards are numerous, including the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship at Tanglewood, a citation in United States Congress for community commitment, and finalist in the 1st Bernstein International Conducting Competition. He attended Lancing College, has a BMus from Manchester University (England), a MM from Northwestern (Chicago), and studied with Gustav Meier and Victor Yamposky.
