Johannes Somary, now in his forty-sixth season as Founder and Music Director of the AmorArtis Chorus and Orchestra, has conducted such ensembles as the English Chamber Orchestra, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Polish Television and Radio Orchestra, the New Orleans Symphony, XXI Sajandi Orkester in Tallinn, Estonia, London’s Royal Phil harmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has participated in many international music festivals ranging from Sion to Dubrovnik, from Madeira to Israel and Greece. His discography includes sixty recordings, four of which received Stereo Review “Record of the Year” Awards, and three of which were first recordings of Handel oratorios. Maestro Somary, born in Switzerland and a graduate of the Yale School of Music, has been active not only as a conductor but also as a composer, organist, and teacher.

As a composer he was commissioned recently by the Jefferson Music Festival, the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, and the Benedictine Monastery of San Anselmo in Rome. His recently completed violin concerto was premiered and recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia in March 2004, and other works have been recorded on Premier, Leonarda and Albany. Other important commissions include a cantata “Is This Life?,” which was given its premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, with Michael Moriarty as narrator. The Washington Post remarked after the performance: “The musical language is attractive, with its myriad texts. From the podium, Somary got results which were right on the mark.”

As an organist he has received critical acclaim for his recent recording of Handel organ concerti. And, as a teacher, he served for thirty-seven years as Chairman of the Arts at Horace Mann School. Since coming to New York in 1959, he has served as Choirmaster and Music Director in several churches, including the Cathedral of Saint Patrick. He is also in his thirty-second year as conductor of Connecticut’s Fairfield County Chorale.