Since stepping up to the podium as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the fall of 1999, Maestro Falletta has been credited with bringing the Philharmonic to a new level of national and international prominence. During her tenure, the Orchestra’s budget has grown by 25 percent and subscriptions have reached record levels. For the 2016-17 season, the BPO broke records in ticket sales, subscriptions and fundraising, helping the organization achieve another balanced budget, the 12th in the past 13 years.
 
Under Falletta’s direction, the BPO is continuing its trajectory as one of the most recorded orchestras in America. In addition to receiving two Grammy awards and six nominations, Falletta and the BPO have garnered numerous ASCAP awards, including the top award for Adventurous Programming in 2011, 2013 and 2014, two acclaimed Carnegie Hall performances in 2004 and 2013, two highly successful Florida tours, the establishment of the orchestra’s own Beau Fleuve label, the founding of the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition in partnership with WNED, and the national and international broadcast of BPO concerts on NPR’s Performance Today, From the Top, SymphonyCast, and the European Broadcasting Union. Other recent broadcasts include a national PBS televised special, Bernstein’s Ode to Freedom featuring Ms. Falletta as host, and a PBS special of the Four Seasons with Mark O’Connor and Catherine Cho.
 
Recording highlights for the Buffalo Philharmonic’s 2017-18 season include music from the Wagner’s Ring and Kodaly for Naxos. Recent releases include music by Richard Strauss and Vitezslav Novak on the Naxos label and Beau Fleuve releases of Brahms Symphony #2 and Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Chloe Hanslip, Beethoven Piano Concertos #3 and #5 (Emperor) with Norman Krieger (Decca), and a new Holiday disc.
 
Both on and off the podium, Falletta is a dedicated advocate for the BPO and the Buffalo region. She was named Buffalo’s most influential community leader, and Buffalo and Erie County’s Artist of the Year, and was voted a member of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame and the Western New York Women’s Hall of Fame. Falletta has received twelve honorary doctorates, the Erie County Historical Society’s Red Jacket for outstanding community service, the Theodore Roosevelt award, the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies Award for outstanding leadership in the Tyberg Musical Legacy project and the Human Relations Award from the Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Recently, she was presented with the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, the University of Buffalo’s highest award and The National Federation for Just Communities Citation Award.