Christian Baldini, conductor and music director of the Symphony Orchestra of the State University of New York at Buffalo, has been named the new conductor of the University of California, Davis, Symphony Orchestra, following a national search.

The Argentinean-born conductor and composer will join the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Music as an assistant professor on July 1. He is expected to make his campus conducting debut at a June 2 concert at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Baldini succeeds Kern Holoman, who is stepping down after 30 years as symphony conductor.

“I am truly honored to be offered this position and delighted to continue the wonderful work that Professor Holoman has done during his greatly successful tenure," Baldini said. "The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra has a very rich tradition, and I am looking forward to sharing all my passion and love for music with such a vibrant community.”

Holoman, who continues as a professor of music at UC Davis, hailed Baldini's record of accomplishments as "exceptional."

"I am delighted that Professor Baldini will become the fifth conductor of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra," Holoman said.

Baldini was selected following a national search that included a February visit to campus to work with the orchestra and music department faculty and students.

Baldini has won awards in global music competitions including the 2005 Seoul International Competition for Composers in South Korea, the 2005 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Tribune of Music, the 2006 Sao Paulo Orchestra International Conducting Competition in Brazil, and the 2008 Ossia International Competition in Rochester, N.Y.

Baldini regularly conducts orchestras in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, has served as the assistant conductor of the Britten-Pears Orchestra in Aldeburgh, England, and has worked with soloists of some of the world's premier orchestras, including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berliner Philharmoniker, Halle Orchestra and Alban Berg Quartet. Last year he was invited to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as a participant in the center's National Conducting Institute.

His compositions have been performed in festivals and venues throughout Europe, South America, North America and Asia, including the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires; L'Arsenal in Metz, France; Jaqueline Du Pre Hall in Oxford, England; Kumho Art Hall in Seoul; BKA Theater in Berlin; Berio Hall in Genoa, Italy; and by orchestras and ensembles including the Orchestre National de Lorraine of France; the Southbank Sinfonia of London; the Daegu Chamber Orchestra of South Korea; the New York New Music Ensemble; the Chronophonie Ensemble of Freiburg, Germany; the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble of Vienna; the Barton Workshop of Amsterdam; the Kreisler Ensemble of London; and the Illegal Harmony Ensemble of Scotland. A CD including his tango, "Forest Ella," was released in November 2007 on the PRETAL label.

Baldini holds a master's degree in orchestral conducting from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor's degree in conducting and composition from the Catholic University of Argentina.

At SUNY Buffalo, Baldini has also served as music director of the Buffalo Contemporary Ensemble, conducted the Slee Sinfonietta, a professional chamber orchestra in residence, and taught orchestral conducting.

Founded in 1959, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra is a principal resident ensemble at the Mondavi Center and performs at major campus events and ceremonies, including fall convocation and commencements. The 96-member orchestra is made up of undergraduate students, graduate students and members of the university community. It has toured in California, Canada, France, Australia and French Polynesia.

About UC Davis

For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science — and advanced degrees from five professional schools: Education, Law, Management, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. The UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Medical Center are located on the Sacramento campus near downtown.