Fedor Kabalin

(July 12, 1920 - August 3, 2016)
Founding member

Fedor Kabalin was a Croatian-born resident of the United States. After early music training in his native country, he received a conducting diploma from the Vienna Music Academy and graduate degrees in composition from Northwestern University and Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, NY. In his pedagogic activities, he taught at the Manhattan School of Music, served as music department chair at Kean University in New Jersey, Opera Theater music director and on the piano faculty at Indiana State University in Pennsylvania, and chaired theory department at the Music and Arts Institute in San Francisco where he also conducted orchestra concerts.

Fedor Kabalin's talent as a conductor was undeniable. He made his mark in the summer of 2002 with the Constantsa Opera in Romania, and continued to impress as a guest conductor with the Vidin Philharmonic for a third consecutive season. His debut in Bulgaria with the Pleven Philharmonic in 1999 was a testament to his versatility. He also spent 2 summers in China on a cultural exchange program, collaborating with the Xi'an Conservatory Orchestra to prepare the concerts that concluded each week. His talent was further recognized as he conducted opera and symphony concerts in the Czech Republic for several seasons and opera during 2 summers at the prestigious Barga Festival in Italy. His influence extended to the United States, where he served as music director of the Midland (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra and regular conductor of the Garden State Ballet in New Jersey. He even conducted soundtrack recordings for Chile Films, and guest conducted the New Jersey, Detroit, and Chilean National Symphony orchestras.

Among his compositions is background music for feature-length films in South America, while his works were performed in Europe and the Western Hemisphere in concert and on radio, with some of the performing ensembles including Zagreb Philharmonic, New Jersey, Detroit, Louisville, and Oklahoma symphony orchestras. He has also been active as an orchestrator and arranger and wrote extensively on music with book chapters, articles, reviews, or record liner notes published by many prestigious journals and record labels.