Gerardo Edelstein

Gerardo Edelstein, a native of Argentina, is an internationally distinguished conductor whose work encompasses symphonic, operatic, and choral-orchestral repertoire across four continents. Widely praised by audiences, musicians, and critics alike, his performances are noted for their sensitivity, charisma, and vibrant energy.

Edelstein’s international career has included major leadership roles and guest appearances with orchestras and ensembles around the world. He served as Principal Conductor of the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir and Orchestra, where he was featured on national radio and television and led tours throughout Israel. In the United States, he held positions as Assistant Conductor, Associate Conductor, and Music Advisor with the Richmond Symphony, conducting a wide range of performances and collaborating with internationally renowned artists. During his tenure, the orchestra received consecutive first-place awards from the ASCAP in 2000 and 2001 for innovative programming. He was Artistic Director of the Penn’s Woods Summer Music Festival for twenty years.

As a guest conductor, Edelstein has appeared with numerous orchestras across Israel, Europe, and the Americas, including the Israel Sinfonietta, the Mendi Rodan Symphony Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, the Kharkov Philharmonic in Ukraine and the Orquestra Sinfônica of the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil. In his native Argentina, he has conducted leading ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, the Entre Ríos Symphony Orchestra, the Tucumán Symphony Orchestra and Choir, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. In the United States, his collaborations have included the Houston Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, the Pennsylvania Chamber Chorale and Orchestra, the Kalamazoo and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras. His international engagements have also brought him to major festivals, including appearances in Ireland for the Dublin’s first international orchestra festival and at the Rencontres Musicales Internationales des Graves in Bordeaux, France. His discography includes commercial recordings with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, the State Symphony Orchestra in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and the Penn’s Woods Festival Orchestra in Pennsylvania.

A particularly notable performance came during the fiftieth anniversary of the Penn State School of Arts and Architecture, when Edelstein conducted Mass by Leonard Bernstein—a production praised as one of the finest realizations of this exceptionally demanding work.

Deeply committed to music education, Edelstein has worked extensively with young musicians throughout the United States and abroad. He has served as a clinician and guest conductor for festivals across numerous states and has collaborated in side-by-side performances with major orchestras, including the San Antonio Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He regularly presents masterclasses and conducting workshops internationally, and his students have gone on to hold positions in prestigious orchestras and institutions around the world.

Edelstein’s work with the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra has included international touring, most notably a tour of Spain with performances to enthusiastic, capacity audiences. Under his direction, Penn State ensembles have also appeared at some of the United States’ most distinguished venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Heinz Hall, and Capital One Hall in Washington, D.C.

He received his early musical training in Argentina, graduating with high honors in piano from the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires and in choral conducting from the J. J. Castro Conservatory. He continued his studies in Israel at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music, where he earned an Artist Diploma in orchestral conducting and was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Conducting Scholarship by the American/Israel Cultural Foundation. He later completed a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. Among his principal teachers were Antonio Russo, Helmuth Rilling, Mendi Rodan, and Larry Rachleff.

Currently, Edelstein serves as Director of Orchestral Studies and Professor of Conducting at Pennsylvania State University, where he conducts the Penn State Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras. He is also Music Director and Conductor of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director and Conductor of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra.