Ricardo Averbach

Director of Orchestral Studies, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio USA

Director of Orchestral Studies at Miami University of Ohio since 1992, Brazilian conductor Ricardo Averbach has also served as President of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) and guest conductor of orchestras in Bulgaria, Russia, Portugal, Italy, Luxembourg, France, China, Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Japan, India, Armenia and the United States. His concerts have been broadcast on radio and television in over 50 countries.

As a dedicated advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Averbach has performed and recorded several world premieres for major labels, which have sold more than half a million copies around the globe. The American Prize recognized his work in the College/University Division in three different categories: Winner of the 2010 American Prize in Conducting (runner-up in 2016), First runner-up in the 2010 American Prize in Orchestral Performance with the Oxford Chamber Orchestra and finalist in the 2016 American Prize in Orchestral Performance with the Miami University Symphony Orchestra.

In 2018 he was the recipient of the Ohio Governor’s Award in the Individual Artist category. The Governor’s Award is the state’s most prestigious artistic and cultural achievement. A resident of Oxford since 2002, Ricardo Averbach has been promoting the arts in Ohio by collaborating with world renowned composers, soloists and musicians, participating in multidisciplinary projects, taking his students on tours nationally and abroad, commissioning Ohio composers, and serving in the Committee for the Arts and Innovative Thinking of the Ohio Department of Education. Averbach is passionate about working in a university environment, and challenging his students to think out of the box and use music as a tool for civil engagement, cultural erudition and artistic refinement.

D.M.A., Orchestral Conducting, University of Michigan School of Music, 1995
M.M, Orchestra, Opera, and Choral Conducting, Sofia National Academy of Music, Bulgaria, 1981
B.S., Industrial Engineering, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, 1979
2018 Ohio Governor’s Award as Best Individual Artist
2010 American Prize winner, University/College Division; 2016 American Prize 2nd Place
1st Honor Diploma, 31st Masterplayer’s International Music Competition, Lugano, Switzerland
Past President, College Orchestra Directors Association
Over half a million CDs sold worldwide
American representative in the jury of Hopes, Talents, Masters International Music Competition, Bulgaria
Yearly guest conducting engagements in more than 15 countries
Diploma di Merito, Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Sienna, Italy, 1987
Seminar for Conductors, Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, Germany 1987
Maurice Abravanel Fellowship, Tanglewood Music Festival, USA, 1992
Main Mentors: Sergiu Celibidache, Gustav Meier, Vladi Simeonov, and Gennadi Rozdestvensky