Celebrating 16 years at the helm of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, John DeMain is noted for his dynamic performances on concert and opera stages throughout the world. “A gifted orchestra builder,” according to the New York Times, DeMain has built the MSO into one of America’s leading regional orchestras. In addition to overseeing its move into the magnificent Overture Hall and expanding the subscription season to triple performances, he has enhanced the quality of the orchestra with ever more challenging and virtuosic works from the repertoire. “It was tempting,” said the New York Times, “to compare this regional orchestra even with a major international ensemble...the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.”

DeMain’s active conducting schedule has taken him to the stages of the National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Boston Pops, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of Seville and Mittledeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra, along with the symphonies of Seattle, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit and Jacksonville. In 2007 he donated a critically acclaimed performance to the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica to benefit their National Institute of Music. DeMain has also been a regular conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra and National Opera of Mexico, both in Mexico City.

DeMain also serves as Artistic Director for Madison Opera and, until recently, for Opera Pacific, where he led an unprecedented seven-company co-production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking in 2002. He is a regular guest conductor with Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre and Los Angeles Opera, to which he returned in 2006-2007 to conduct highly acclaimed performances of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, the opera that has become his signature work. In 2007-2008 he conducted A View from the Bridge with Washington National Opera, and in 2008-2009 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut and returned to San Francisco Opera to conduct Porgy and Bess.

DeMain’s orchestral world premieres includes Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto, Daniel Catan’s Suite from Florencia en Amazonas, and Joel Hoffman’s The Forty Steps. DeMain was invited by Leonard Bernstein to conduct the world premiere of the great American composer's last opera, A Quiet Place, and he has since conducted the world premieres of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, Maria de Buenos Aires, and The Making of the Representative of Planet Eight, based on the book by Doris Lessing. He also conducted the world premieres of John Adams’ Nixon in China, Carlisle Floyd’s Willie Stark and The Passion of Jonathan Wade, and Michael Tippet’s New Year.

During his distinguished 17-year tenure with Houston Grand Opera, DeMain led a history-making production of Porgy and Bess, winning a Grammy Award, Tony Award and France’s Grand Prix du Disque for the RCA recording. In all, he has conducted more than 350 performances of Porgy and Bess throughout the world, including performances at La Scala di Milano, Paris Opera (Bastille) and for Japan Arts in Tokyo. His critically acclaimed New York City Opera production of the opera was televised on the Live from Lincoln Center series and garnered an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Classical Music & Dance Program.”

Live from Lincoln Center also presented DeMain’s productions of An American Christmas with James Earl Jones, Floyd’s Willie Stark, Joplin’s Treemonisha and Adams’ Nixon in China. His contributions to the series were celebrated in the 2006 30th Anniversary Broadcast, which featured excerpts of his New York City Opera Porgy and Bess performance and of “No Puede ser” with the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo. DeMain has worked extensively in concerts throughout the world with Domingo, most notably in the celebrated 1992 Concert for the Planet Earth from Rio de Janeiro.

DeMain began his career as a pianist and conductor in his native Youngstown, Ohio. After winning the Youngstown Symphony’s piano competition at age 18, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School in New York. He made a highly acclaimed debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and was the second recipient of the Julius Rudel Award at New York City Opera. He was also one of the first six conductors to receive the Exxon/National Endowment for the Arts Conductor Fellowship—for his work with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

DeMain holds honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska and Edgewood College. He was recently named a Fellow by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. He resides in Madison with his wife Barbara and their daughter Jennifer.