Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the Indianapolis Opera, Alfred Savia is no stranger to the Indianapolis musical scene. Savia served as Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony and Artistic Director of Symphony On the Prairie from 1990 to1996. He has returned nearly every season since then to guest conduct the ISO most notably in their annual “Star Spangled Symphony” concerts at Conner Prairie over the 4th of July holiday.
Maestro Savia served as the Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra for 31 seasons. Under his leadership the Orchestra added a Youth Orchestra program, Philharmonic Chorus, and a full-time String Quartet. He initiated many new programs including Messiah, Nutcracker, Music Alive residencies, and fully staged opera presentations. Savia’s American guest conducting appearances include the Orchestras of Saint Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Columbus, Memphis, San Antonio, Louisville, New Orleans and Naples (FL). Internationally, he has conducted orchestras extensively in Europe (Florence, Belgrade), Central and South America (Santiago, Montevideo, Quito; Toluca, and Jalapa in Mexico), and Asia (Korea Philharmonic). Festival appearances include Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony and the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival. He recorded Russell Peck’s The Thrill of the Orchestra with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and, with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi and the Evansville Philharmonic, Respighi’s Piano Concerto.
A native of Livingston, New Jersey, Savia graduated from Butler University. Conducting studies at the ASOL Institute of Orchestral Studies and the Tanglewood Music Center led to his first professional appointment as Assistant Conductor of The Omaha Symphony. Subsequently, he served as Resident Conductor of the Florida Philharmonic and New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orlando Opera.
Savia studied operatic conducting in Milan, Italy with Enrico Pessina, a conductor at La Scala, who himself had been an assistant conductor under Arturo Toscanini, Pietro Mascagni and Giacomo Puccini. In 2013 he conducted La Traviata on the island of Giglio in Tuscany as part of Italy’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary Verdi’s birth. In 2017 he led the Indianapolis Opera production of La Traviata, and in 2019 Indy Opera’s Elixir of Love. As Artistic Advisor & Principal Conductor, Maestro Savia leads two opera productions each season, the annual Opera in the Park concert at Garvin Park, and works extensively as the music director for Indy Opera’s Resident Artist programs.
In 2013 Savia was made a Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest civilian honor.
Maestro Savia served as the Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra for 31 seasons. Under his leadership the Orchestra added a Youth Orchestra program, Philharmonic Chorus, and a full-time String Quartet. He initiated many new programs including Messiah, Nutcracker, Music Alive residencies, and fully staged opera presentations. Savia’s American guest conducting appearances include the Orchestras of Saint Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Columbus, Memphis, San Antonio, Louisville, New Orleans and Naples (FL). Internationally, he has conducted orchestras extensively in Europe (Florence, Belgrade), Central and South America (Santiago, Montevideo, Quito; Toluca, and Jalapa in Mexico), and Asia (Korea Philharmonic). Festival appearances include Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony and the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival. He recorded Russell Peck’s The Thrill of the Orchestra with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and, with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi and the Evansville Philharmonic, Respighi’s Piano Concerto.
A native of Livingston, New Jersey, Savia graduated from Butler University. Conducting studies at the ASOL Institute of Orchestral Studies and the Tanglewood Music Center led to his first professional appointment as Assistant Conductor of The Omaha Symphony. Subsequently, he served as Resident Conductor of the Florida Philharmonic and New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orlando Opera.
Savia studied operatic conducting in Milan, Italy with Enrico Pessina, a conductor at La Scala, who himself had been an assistant conductor under Arturo Toscanini, Pietro Mascagni and Giacomo Puccini. In 2013 he conducted La Traviata on the island of Giglio in Tuscany as part of Italy’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary Verdi’s birth. In 2017 he led the Indianapolis Opera production of La Traviata, and in 2019 Indy Opera’s Elixir of Love. As Artistic Advisor & Principal Conductor, Maestro Savia leads two opera productions each season, the annual Opera in the Park concert at Garvin Park, and works extensively as the music director for Indy Opera’s Resident Artist programs.
In 2013 Savia was made a Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest civilian honor.
