GREGORY VAJDA, 35, was born in Budapest, Hungary, the son of renowned soprano Veronika Kincses.  He studied clarinet and composition at the Béla Bartók secondary school and then pursued conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music under Professor Ervin Lukács.  He was also a conducting pupil of the well-known twentieth-century composer and conductor, Péter Eötvös.  Prior to his appointment as resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, he served as assistant conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, permanent guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera (1998-03), principal conductor of the Dohnányi Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, and was a member of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.  Mr.Vajda was honored with the Gundel Art Prize in classical music in 2001, the Zoltán Kodály State Grant for composers for the year 2000, and the Annie Fischer State Grant for music performers in 1999.  He has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, and Atlanta Opera, among many others.

Saturday, March 14, 2009
Free ConcerTalk by Gregory Vajda at 7 p.m., Concert begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets begin at $25.
George Mason University's Center for the Arts (Directions)
4373 Mason Pond Drive in Fairfax, Virginia

Andrew Armstrong, piano
LISZT: Les Préludes
BARTOK: Piano Concerto No. 3
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2 in C Major

FREE Students Tickets are no longer available, but are $15 at the door.