Carlo Ponti Jr. (born 29 December 1968) is an Italian orchestral conductor working in the United States. He is a son of late film producer Carlo Ponti Sr. and Italian actress Sophia Loren, and the older brother of film director Edoardo Ponti.
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Early life
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Ponti worked at the Conductor's Institute in Connecticut, under the direction of Harold Farberman from 1994–96, worked with Mehli Mehta, Zubin Mehta, and Andrey Boreyko in Los Angeles from 1997-99, and furthered his musical studies in Austria at the Vienna Musikhochschule from 1999 to 2001 under Leopold Hager and Erwin Acel.
Career
He has guest conducted internationally and was the recipient of various awards for fostering the growth of young musical talent through music education. Ponti has been associate conductor of the Russian National Orchestra from 2000 to 2018 and was music director and principal conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony from 2001 to 2013. In 2013 he founded the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, an ensemble emphasizing music's educational value of which he is artistic and music director. The Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra is currently performing its twelfth concert season (2026–2027) in Los Angeles.
Ponti has released two recordings with the Russian National Orchestra on the Pentatone label and his work and performances have been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC/Universal, NPR, PBS, ORF, Sky News, Spectrum, KTLA, Fox News, Leonard Lopate, Dennis Miller, Symphony Magazine, Classical KUSC, the Associated Press, American Public Media's Performance Today and America's Music Festivals.
Personal life
On 18 September 2004, Carlo Ponti married Hungarian violinist Andrea Mészáros. They have two children, both born in Geneva. Ponti and Mészáros divorced in 2022. On 26 July 2025, Carlo Ponti married Georgian fitness trainer Mariam Sharmanashvili. After the wedding, he converted to Orthodox Christianity.
Orchestral ensembles conducted by Carlo Ponti
Listed alphabetically
Festival and event appearances
Listed alphabetically
Avila Primavera Fest, Spain
Belgrade Music Festival, Serbia
Bratislava Spring Music Festival, Slovakia
Europaischer Kulturpreis, Austria
Festival d'Echternach, France
Festival Napa Valley, United States
Festival de Villena, Spain
United Nations WTO Global Youth Tourism Summit, Italy
Julio Musical, Spain
Festival Vancouver, Canada
Koln Musik Triennale, Germany
Lake Tahoe Music Festival, United States
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Italy
Montecatini International Opera Festival and Academy, Italy
Novi Sad Music Festival, Serbia
Royal Days (Kiralyi Napok), Hungary
St.Petersburg Palaces Festival, Russia
Taichung Music Festival, Taiwan
Tbilisi Piano Fest
Tuscan Sun Festival, Italy
Awards
2006 : Premio Galileo Award for exceptional musical achievement.
2008 : Artistic Achievement Award from the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition.
2009 : Spirit of Hope Award from the Childhelp Foundation for his acclaimed work with young musicians.
2011 : Lupa Di Roma Award (co-recipient) from the Roman City Council.
2014 : Premio Civitas, XVIII edition, Pozzuoli
2022: Awardee of Italy’s Assoutenti 40th Anniversary Awards for dedication to the development of orchestral music as a cross-cultural tool to promote peace, unity and communication between nations.
2023: Ordine della Stella D’Italia distinction conferred by the President of the Italian Republic on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for contributing to the worldwide development of classical music education and performance.
Recordings
2008: Pictures at an Exhibition and other orchestral works by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), with the Russian National Orchestra on PENTATONE (PTC 5186332), SACD
2011: Scheherazade, Capriccio Espagnol and other orchestral works by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), with the Russian National Orchestra on PENTATONE (PTC 5186378), SACD