1. Case’s first musical emotion was one of complete joy! When learning the trombone as a child, Case found that as he began to improve each week he felt an ability to express himself in a way that he could not using words. This was a feeling that he had never had before and is something that he has carried with him ever since.
2. It was thanks to a last-minute cancellation by a babysitter that led Case to go with his parents to see an opera for the first time around the age of eight. Case remembers being transfixed by the orchestra in the pit and the connection between conductor and musicians; he felt the music cutting to his very core and knew then and there that this was something he had to explore as a part of his life.
Case with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (C) Sonja Werner and Adrian Borda
3.A native of Texas, Case received his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His postgraduate studies were spent at the Peabody Institute, where he studied with the internationally renowned conductor Gustav Meier. He was also a student of David Zinman at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, where he won the James Conlon Prize and the Aspen Conducting Prize. Case was named the 2011 Solti Fellow by the Solti Foundation U.S. — an honour awarded only three times in the foundation’s history.
4.Case has previously served as Associate Conductor with the New York Philharmonic. He was also Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles: Case was the driving force behind the artistic growth and diversification of the organisation, founding their educational outreach initiative ‘360° Music’.
Case Scaglione (C) Sonja Werner
5.Case believes that the work of a conductor is to be an ambassador of the music and that creating music with other people is an act of love. He says that the craft requires a dedication to a life of scholarly pursuit which is truly never-ending. Case studies scores for hours every day but this drive to learn more comes from a place of love for the music and doesn’t feel like work to him. Case says they have a saying in Texas which goes, ‘Life’s barely long enough to get good at one thing’ and that he’ll spend his learning this musical trade. We’re glad he has!
Case Scaglione makes his BSO debut with ‘Drama and Romance’ on 9 February (7:30pm) at Lighthouse Poole. The concert will also be livestreamed and available for 30 days online after broadcast.