A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today’s most exciting faces on the conducting scene. His strong bond with the musicians and community of Toronto continues through the fourth season of his eight year tenure as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Through his communicative gifts on and off the podium, Mr. Oundjian’s concerts draw capacity audiences as he explores the breadth and depth of orchestral repertoire and as he helps to create compelling seasons featuring world-renowned soloists and guest conductors. At the beginning of his tenure, Mr. Oundjian created the now-annual Mozart Festival and the New Creations Festival. His probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging personality have earned him accolades from musicians and critics alike.

News of Mr. Oundjian and the TSO continues to spread worldwide through the documentary Five Days In September: The Rebirth of An Orchestra, which has won numerous awards at major international film festivals and has been released on DVD with wider distribution planned.

In addition to his post in Toronto, Peter Oundjian continues to serve as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, helping to create and launch an innovative multi-disciplinary festival in June 2007. He has also played a major role at the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York for over a decade, currently serving as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor. From 1998-2003, Mr. Oundjian was the Music Director of the Nieuw Sinfonietta in Amsterdam, and recorded the impressive BIS CD of Beethoven.

Mr. Oundjian’s 2008-2009 season feature return visits to Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Houston, and Colorado Symphonies, and the Aspen Festival. Abroad, he will conduct two weeks with the Zürich Tonhalle, and begin an annual relationship with the Radio Philharmonique in Paris. Mr. Oundjian also returns to lead the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, as well as the Baltimore and Dallas Symphonies, among others.

Born in Toronto, Peter Oundjian was educated in England, where he studied the violin with Manoug Parikian. Subsequently, he attended the Royal College of Music in London, where he was awarded the Gold Medal for Most Distinguished Student and Stoutzker Prize for excellence in violin playing. He completed his violin training at the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy DeLay. He was the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years. Mr. Oundjian is now in his 27th year as a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music. He and his wife Nadine have two children, Lara and Peter.


Toronto Symphony Orchestra Website: http://www.tso.ca/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.