Director Franz Vote

Franz Vote, Artistic Director

Franz Vote has been called one of the finest conductors of his generation. Named a “singer’s conductor” by reviewers, his rapport with musicians, both on stage and in the orchestra pit, elicits music-making of the highest level. Regarding his premiere of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, one reviewer noted, “… during the curtain call, a very unusual thing happened. Usually half or more of the musicians have left the orchestra pit by the time the conductor gets to take his curtain call, and he then has to stand there and extend his gratitude to an almost empty pit. Not this time. Last night most, if not all of the musicians stayed in their spots, and what’s more, they stood up and avidly applauded Franz Vote.”

Maestro Vote began his professional career in 1980 as a conductor at The Eastman School of Music and The Aspen Music Festival. In 1982 he was engaged at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where he conducted Le nozze di Figaro, L’elisir d’amore, Giulio Cesare, Xerxes, and L’Orfeo. His successes there led to productions of Gianni Schicchi and Hans Werner Henze’s Don Chisciotte de la Mancia in Aachen. From there, he went to the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich and the Theater des Westens in Berlin. Maestro Vote’s approach to conducting is informed by extensive experience in German opera houses and his 1989 engagement at the Bayreuth Festival as Assistant Conductor to Daniel Barenboim and James Levine.

In 1990 he was invited by James Levine to join the Metropolitan Opera, conducting performances of Elektra, Madama Bufferfly, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Les contes d’Hoffmann, and the 1996 New Year’s Eve Gala. Placido Domingo invited him to lead Tokyo’s Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for the Operalia Vocal Competition.

The Los Angeles native has collaborated with many of the world’s most prominent operatic artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Hildegard Behrens, Stephanie Blythe, Jane Eaglen, Renée Fleming, Galina Gorchakova, Ben Heppner, Jerry Hadley, James King, Susanne Mentzer, Richard Leach, Samuel Ramey, and Deborah Voigt, among many others.

Maestro Vote achieved international prominence and received high acclaim as Music Director of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at Seattle Opera in 2001 with soprano Jane Eaglen. Called the “musical Wotan of the production…..a real master of Wagnerian style….a conductor who brings out the best in his players,’’ the New York Times noted that his performance was “beautiful, conceptually unified and musically strong…Mr. Vote brought vigor and textural clarity to the score.”

Recent seasons have included Opera Memphis’ Samson et Dalila with Barbara Dever and Otoniel Gonzaga, Aida and Salome for Orlando Opera, plus touring with that company to Toulon, France; Faust at Sarasota Opera, which Opera News called a “Faust, passionately, arrestingly conducted by Franz Vote, who was as interested in theatrical sweep as in nuances of tempo and phrasing.” His recent performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Naples were called the company’s “best ever…every section was strong, tightly meshed and well-rehearsed. Vote’s direction created a seamless tapestry from [the orchestra] and the singers…”

Franz Vote currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he is Music Director and Conductor of the New Mexico Bach Society and Vice-President of the New Mexico Performing Arts Society. He also guests conducts at various opera houses around the country.

Linda Marianiello

Linda Marianiello, Executive Director

Linda Marianiello has served as Executive Director of New Mexico Performing Arts Society (NMPAS) since our founding in October 2011. Her Artist Bio provides details of her long career as a professional flutist and Verne Q. Powell Artist.

As Executive Director, Linda is responsible for hiring the excellent New Mexico professionals who perform with NMPAS. She works closely with Artistic Director Franz Vote on artist selection, scheduling, programming, and other aspects of NMPAS’s Mission to bring high-quality musical experiences to communities throughout New Mexico. And she prioritizes collaboration with other arts and social service nonprofits: to date, NMPAS has participated in over 56 collaborative projects.

Linda Marianiello earned a B.A. with honors from Yale University. Her openness to lifelong learning, acquired at Yale, has helped her to gain new skills throughout her career. As Executive Director of NMPAS, she not only handles artist management, but also participates in financial planning, marketing, donor relationships, and teamwork with staff, consultants, and the NMPAS Board. The addition of Fundraising Consultant Emilie De Angelis to the team in 2020 has made a crucial difference to Linda’s – and the entire organization’s – ability to fully professionalize NMPAS with a Succession Plan in mind. As a founder, Linda is keenly aware of how important it is for NMPAS to continue beyond her time as Executive Director.

What makes service to NMPAS particularly meaningful for Linda is the relationships she has built with colleagues, staff, donors, business partners, and Board members. NMPAS has become a close-knit community of arts professionals, devoted audiences, and loyal supporters of our work.

Linda would like to thank the Santa Fe Community Foundation, The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, New Mexico Arts, the Santa Fe Arts & Culture Department, and NMPAS Advisory Board member James Bonnell, for hosting workshops that support the work of nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers. Their generosity in helping to train nonprofit professionals of the future is deeply appreciated by Linda and the entire NMPAS team.

David G. Ponder, Accountant

In early 2013, David G. Ponder became a New Mexico resident. He then started Ponder Bookkeeping LLC while working 3.5 years part-time as the bookkeeper for the Upaya Zen Center before flying solo in his bookkeeping business. David has been the bookkeeper for Biographers International Organization for the past 6 years, serves as the treasurer for the Montecito Condo Association, and is on the advisory board for the Meadow City Academy of Music in Las Vegas, New Mexico. David Ponder served as NMPAS Treasurer for 2.5 years from 2019-2021.

Roger Rosales, Webmaster

NMPAS has been working with Roger Rosales as webmaster. Roger has worked professionally in IT, videography, graphic design, and website design for over 17 years. A former musician himself, Roger has always had a passion for music and respects the work New Mexico Performing Arts Society puts into its artists and performances in the New Mexico community. He is glad to play a part in improving NMPAS’s reach through the website, so that folks everywhere can connect with the amazing work of the organization.

Pete Monro, Film Habit, Inc., Videographer

Pete Monro joined the NMPAS team as resident videographer and live streamer. For obvious reasons, we have been so lucky to connect and collaborate with Pete during the pandemic. He is an experienced filmmaker, whose personal projects have been screened at festivals throughout the country. When Pete is not working with NMPAS or with his production company Film Habit Inc., he enjoys being a filmmaking mentor for True Kids 1, a Northern New Mexico nonprofit aimed at digital media literacy.

Peggy Hermann, Grant Writer