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Peter Oundjian

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Peter Oundjian
Oundjian conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall in June 2014
Born
Peter Haig Oundjian

(1955-12-21) 21 December 1955 (age 68)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CitizenshipCanada
United Kingdom
United States[1]
Education
OccupationConductor
SpouseNadine Aubort
Children2
Parent(s)Haig Aram Oundjian, Joan Bertrand (Sanderson) Oundjian
RelativesEric Idle (cousin)

Peter Haig Oundjian (born 21 December 1955) is a Canadian-American violinist and conductor.

Early life

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Peter Oundjian was born in Toronto, Ontario, the third of five children of Haig Aram Oundjian and his wife Joan Bertrand (Sanderson) Oundjian. His father was of Armenian-British descent, his mother was British. Oundjian also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan. Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the violin at age seven with Manoug Parikian. He attended Charterhouse School in Godalming and continued his studies later with Bela Katona. He then attended the Royal College of Music.

Oundjian subsequently studied at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy DeLay. While at Juilliard, he minored in conducting, and later received encouragement in his endeavors when he attended a master class from the eminent Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan.[2]

Career

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In 1980, Oundjian won First Prize at the International Violin Competition in Viña del Mar, Chile. Oundjian became the first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet and held the post for 14 years. A repetitive stress injury forced Oundjian to curtail his instrumental career.[3] He then shifted his full-time musical focus to conducting. Since 1981, Oundjian has taught as an adjunct professor of violin at the Yale School of Music.[4]

Oundjian was the Artistic Director of the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam (now the Amsterdam Sinfonietta) from 1998 to 2003. He is also the Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor of the Caramoor International Music Festival. He was also the Principal Guest Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for three years. For four summers, he led The Philadelphia Orchestra's "Absolutely Mozart" Festival. Oundjian became principal guest conductor and artistic advisor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in September 2006.[5]

Oundjian was named music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) in January 2003, and assumed the post in 2004. The orchestra had financial problems before the time of Oundjian's appointment,[6] and he contributed to an improvement in the orchestra's situation since the start of his tenure.[7] The 2005 documentary film Five Days in September: The Rebirth of an Orchestra records the first days of Oundjian's first season as the TSO's music director.[2] In February 2007, Oundjian extended his contract with the TSO to 2012.[8][9] Following a subsequent contract extension through the 2013–2014 season,[10] in April 2013, the TSO further extended his contract through the 2016–2017 season.[11] Following a further TSO contract extension through the 2017–2018 season,[12] Oundjian concluded his music directorship of the TSO at the close of the 2017–2018 season and was named the TSO's conductor emeritus. He also received the Key to the City from Toronto mayor John Tory.[6][13]

In January 2011, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra announced the appointment of Oundjian as its next music director, as of the 2012–2013 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.[14][15] He concluded his RSNO tenure at the close of the 2017–2018 season.[16]

In January 2019, the Colorado Music Festival announced the appointment of Oundjian as its next music director.[17] In February 2022, the Colorado Symphony announced the appointment of Oundjian as its principal conductor. Oundjian had previously served as the Colorado Symphony's principal guest conductor from 2003 to 2006.[18] In September 2024, the Colorado Symphony announced the promotion of Oundjian to the post of its music director, effective with the 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of four years.[19]

Personal life

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Oundjian and his wife Nadine have two children. His nephew is hockey player Ben Smith.[20] He is a cousin to British comedian Eric Idle.[21][1] In June 2007, Oundjian conducted the world premiere of an oratorio by Idle and John DuPrez based on the Monty Python movie Life of Brian, titled Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), at the first Luminato Festival in Toronto, Canada.[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "INTERVIEW - Peter Oundjian On The Eve Of Saying Goodbye - Ludwig van Toronto". Ludwig-van.com. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Andrew Druckenbrod (2005-12-08). "Symphony Preview: How Peter Oundjian went from violinist's chair to conductor's podium". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  3. ^ Colin Eatock, "Oundjian on Board". Opus, fall 2004. [dead link‍]
  4. ^ Yale Bulletin and Calendar, Vol. 26 (No. 19), 2-9 February 1998. Archived 17 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (2006-06-20). "Detroit Symphony Appoints Peter Oundjian Principal Guest Conductor". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  6. ^ a b "'A lot of joy, but a lot of nostalgia': Toronto bids bittersweet farewell to TSO's Peter Oundjian". CBC News. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  7. ^ John Terauds (2007-02-03). "TSO's new season". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
  8. ^ John Terauds (2007-02-08). "Conductor puts mark on TSO through '12". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
  9. ^ Mark Kanny (2007-02-16). "Conductor believes symphony alludes to events in composer's childhood". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2007-03-01.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ John Terauds (2011-01-31). "Toronto Symphony's Peter Oundjian named music director of Royal Scottish National Orchestra". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  11. ^ Trish Crawford (2013-04-19). "Toronto Symphony Orchestra extends music director Peter Oundjian's contract until 2016/17". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  12. ^ Arthur Kaptainis (2016-02-05). "Two more seasons for TSO's Peter Oundjian". National Post. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  13. ^ Robert Harris (2017-01-25). "Toronto Symphony Orchestra unveils its final Oundjian-led season". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  14. ^ "Peter Oundjian to be RSNO's new Music Director" (Press release). Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  15. ^ Phil Miller (2011-02-01). "Leading violinist gets top role at RSNO". The Herald. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  16. ^ Keith Bruce (2017-05-25). "RSNO names its new Music Director". The Herald. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  17. ^ "Peter Oundjian Appointed Music Director of Colorado Music Festival" (PDF) (Press release). Colorado Music Festival. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  18. ^ Ray Mark Rinaldi (2022-03-01). "When this violinist was injured, he reinvented himself as a conductor. Now he's leading the Colorado Symphony". Denver Post. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  19. ^ "Colorado Symphony Elevates Peter Oundjian to Music Director" (PDF) (Press release). Colorado Symphony. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  20. ^ "Molto Vivace, with the Maestro". TVO. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  21. ^ Zekas, Rita (December 5, 2013). "A symphony of comfort and cheer". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 27, 2018. He collaborated with his cousin, Eric Idle of Monty Python fame,
  22. ^ John Terauds (2007-06-02). "Not the Messiah captures best '70s British humour". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  23. ^ John Terauds (2007-05-27). "The afterlife of Brian". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
[edit]
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Lev Markiz
 Artistic Director, Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam
1998–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Jean-Marie Zeitouni
 Music Director, Colorado Music Festival
2019–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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