Filippo Ciabatti

Praised for his “sensitive and nuanced” musicianship and for delivering performances “with admirable sweep and tension,” Filippo Ciabatti is a dynamic and versatile conductor with a multifaceted career.

​A native of Florence, Italy, Mr. Ciabatti has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras across Europe and the Americas, including the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Irving Symphony Orchestra (TX), Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra (GA), Park ICM Orchestra (MO), Portland Symphony Orchestra (ME), San Angelo Symphony Orchestra (TX), Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Festival Orchestra (Sweden), Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Central (Colombia), and members of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Italy). In summer 2024, he was awarded the Joel Revzen Conducting Prize and engaged to conduct the Festival Orchestra Napa (CA).

​Mr. Ciabatti has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Gabriel Cabezas, Ray Chen, Nathan Gunn, David Kim, Tommy Mesa, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Time for Three, and Karen Walwyn. An advocate for contemporary music, he commissioned a cello concerto by Noah Luna, which aired on NPR’s From the Top. He also promotes cross-genre collaborations, having premiered a secular oratorio by jazz composer Taylor Ho Bynum and hosted MacArthur Fellow Tomeka Reid for a performance of her cello concerto.

​In October 2023, Mr. Ciabatti was named Assistant Conductor of Boston Baroque, the first such appointment in the prestigious ensemble’s 50-year history. He is also the founding Artistic Director of Upper Valley Baroque, a professional orchestral and choral ensemble, which after only three seasons has already received critical acclaim and regularly performs to sold-out houses.

​Equally at home in opera, Mr. Ciabatti is the Music Director of the Opera Company of Middlebury, where he made his debut with a production of Fidelio in June 2023. He has also conducted productions with Opera North (NH) and the Lyric Theatre at Illinois, including Tosca, Madama Butterfly, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Don Giovanni (starring and directed by Nathan Gunn).

​As Director of Orchestral and Choral Programs at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, Mr. Ciabatti has spearheaded innovative, cross-disciplinary projects, collaborating with the Martha Graham Dance Company and Associazione Figli d’Arte Cuticchio, an award-winning Sicilian puppet company. In 2018, he led the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra on tour in Italy, performing Mahler’s Fifth Symphony at major festivals in collaboration with the Orchestra Toscana dei Conservatori.

​Mr. Ciabatti is also an accomplished coach and collaborate pianist. He was on the faculty of Opera Viva! (Verona, Italy) for several seasons, and he joined the Seagle Festival (NY) faculty this summer. He has played for masterclasses with Renée Fleming, Isabel Leonard, William Matteuzzi, and Donald George and has served as a vocal coach at institutions such as the Cherubini Conservatory, Florence Opera Academy, and Maggio Musicale Formazione.

​Mr. Ciabatti holds advanced degrees in piano, choral conducting, and orchestral conducting from both Italy and the United States. In 2018, he was a Conducting Fellow at the Aurora Music Festival (Sweden) under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. He won The American Prize in Conducting (college/university division) in 2021. He resides in the Upper Valley region with his wife Francesca, their toddler Gianluca, and their cat Sofia.