Peter Oundjian

Conductors

Manager: Tim Fox
Management Territory: Worldwide

"He led a thoughtful program…Oundjian led a mature performance [of Shostakovich], full of controlled fury. Chiseler Rhythms and ghostly reveries hung in ideal balance. The DSO played with striking intensity. [Stravinsky’s] “Pulcinella”… came across like an extra-dry martini (always welcome). The Mozart Symphony was brisk, yet spacious, suavely conducted and exuberantly played. Oundjian again revealed a prescient understanding of his role, leading and coaching his troops without cramping their individuality." —Detroit Free Press

"Guest conductor Peter Oundjian takes a lean, precise approach to Mozart that leaves the players exposed and thus on their mettle, with the music phrased so that every note claims a particular presence without stepping outside the music’s long-term logic of being lost in the deluxe Philadelphia sound." —The Philadelphia Inquirer

"I’m eager to hear Oundjian again, period." —The San Francisco Chronicle

About

A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Maestro Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today’s most exciting faces on the conducing scene. A tribute to his many years as a world-class chamber musician, Peter Oundjian is renowned for his probing musicality, spirit of collaboration, and engaging personality, which has earned him accolades from musicians and critics alike, as well as frequent re-engagements.

Peter Oundjian’s strong bond with the musicians and community of Toronto continues through his fifth season as Music Director of the Toronto . . . Symphony Orchestra. Through his communicative gifts on and off the podium, Peter Oundjian’s concerts draw strong audiences as he explores, in each season, the breadth and depth of orchestral repertoire and teams with world-renowned soloists. Moreover, at the beginning of his tenure in Toronto, Peter Oundjian created the annual and hugely successful Mozart Festival, as well as the New Creations Festival. He was also at the center of a documentary with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra entitled “Five Days in September: The Rebirth of an Orchestra,” which has won numerous awards at international film festivals and was released on DVD.

In addition to his post in Toronto, Peter Oundjian continues to serve as Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor to the Detroit Symphony – helping 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.

Peter Oundjian’s recent and forthcoming engagements include the Berlin, Colorado, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, St. Louis, and New World Symphonies; the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he served as the Director of the Absolutely Mozart Festival; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Tanglewood, Aspen, and Music Academy of the West Summer Festivals; and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Furthermore, Peter Oundjian continues his frequent engagements with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and the Radio Philharmonique in Paris, as well as forthcoming appearances with the Royal Scottish National and Budapest Festival Orchestras.

Born in Toronto, Peter Oundjian was educated in England where he studied 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 under the tutelage of Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy DeLay, and was the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years. Peter Oundjian is now in his 27th year as a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music and lives with his wife Nadine and their two children, Lara and Peter.

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