Donato Cabrera joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2009 as Assistant Conductor and Wattis Foundation Music Director of the Youth Orchestra. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in April 2009, when he stepped in on short notice to lead the Orchestra in a program of Mozarts Symphony No. 38 and Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, and the Mussorgsky-Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition. In September 2009, he substituted for Michael Tilson Thomas for part of the Symphonys South Bay opening night at Flint Center. This season, Mr. Cabrera leads the San Francisco Symphony in subscription concerts of Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush. Mr. Cabrera also conducts the Orchestra in Concerts for Kids, Adventures in Music, and Music for Families concerts, in addition to leading SFSYO rehearsals and concerts.
From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Cabrera was associate conductor of the San Francisco Opera, where he participated in the world premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic and conducted performances of Die Fledermaus, Don Giovanni, Tannhäuser, and The Magic Flute. He has also been an assistant and cover conductor for projects at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Ballet.
Mr. Cabrera made his South American debut in 2008, conducting Madama Butterfly with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción in Chile; those performances led to an invitation to conduct the ensembles 2009 production of Lucia di Lammermoor as well as the final concert of their symphonic season. In December 2009, he makes his debut with the San Francisco Ballet, conducting performances of The Nutcracker. A champion of new music, Mr. Cabrera was co-founder and music director of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), and has led that ensemble in works of John Adams, Jacob Druckman, Donald Martino, Frederic Rzewski, and Elliott Carter.
Donato Cabrera has long been dedicated to music education and community outreach. For four seasons, he programmed and conducted Young Peoples Concerts for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has conducted the Preparatory Orchestra of the Juilliard School, as well as the youth orchestras of Newark, Cincinnati, Norwalk, and Ridgefield. Mr. Cabrera has also worked with singers in the young artist programs of the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Portland Opera.
In March 2009, Mr. Cabrera was asked to be one of eight participants in the biennial 2009 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, leading the Nashville Symphony over two days in a variety of works. In 2002, Mr. Cabrera was a Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellow for the Salzburg Festival. He has been assistant conductor at numerous summer festivals, including the Ravinia, Spoleto (Italy), and Aspen festivals, and he has served as resident conductor at the Music Academy of the West.
Donato Cabrera holds a bachelors degree in music from the University of Nevada, Reno; a masters degree in conducting from the University of Illinois; and has pursued graduate studies in conducting at Indiana University, Bloomington, and the Manhattan School of Music