Peter Oundjian

Recognized as a masterful and dynamic presence in the conducting world, Peter Oundjian has developed a multi-faceted portfolio as a conductor, violinist, professor and artistic advisor. He has been celebrated for his musicality, an eye towards collaboration, innovative programming, leadership and training with students, and an engaging personality.

Now conductor emeritus, Mr. Oundjian’s fourteen-year tenure as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra served as a major creative force for the city and was marked by a reimagining of the TSO’s programming, international stature, audience development, touring, and a number of outstanding recordings, garnering a GRAMMY nomination in 2018 and a JUNO award for Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works in 2019. He led the orchestra on several international tours to Europe and the U.S., conducting the first performance by a North American orchestra at Harpa in Reykjavik in 2014.

From 2012–2018, Mr. Oundjian served as music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He led the RSNO on several international tours, including North America, China, and a European festival tour with performances at festivals in Bregenz, Dresden, Innsbruck, Bergamo, and Ljubljana, among others. His final appearance with the orchestra as music director was at the 2018 BBC Proms where he conducted Britten’s War Requiem.

Highlights of past seasons include appearances with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; and the Detroit, Atlanta, Colorado, Dallas, Saint Louis, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and New Zealand symphony orchestras. With the onset of world-wide concert cancellations, he prioritized support for his students at the Yale School of Music and the Juilliard School and the creation of a virtual summer festival in Boulder, where he is music director of the Colorado Music Festival. The 2021–22 season anticipates return visits to Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle, Colorado, Detroit, Baltimore, and Indianapolis.

Mr. Oundjian has been a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music since 1981, and in 2013 was awarded the school’s Sanford Medal for Distinguished Service to Music. A dedicated educator, he conducted the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, and the New World Symphony during the 2018–19 season.

An outstanding violinist, Mr. Oundjian spent fourteen years as the first violinist for the renowned Tokyo String Quartet before turning his energy towards conducting.