Colorado Symphony Names Peter Oundjian as New Principal Conductor

Peter Oundjian was a principal guest conductor for the Colorado Symphony from 2003 to 2006 and has been a frequent collaborator with the orchestra since then, so it's no wonder he's been asked through the years to come on board for a longer-term relationship. “But I was always somewhere else,” Oundjian says.

The Colorado Symphony Association has finally found him in the right place, and has just announced Oundjian's appointment as its principal conductor. The Toronto-born Oundjian began his career as a solo violinist and first violinist for the Tokyo String Quartet, playing some 2,000 concerts before turning his attention toward conducting. He was music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for fourteen years before spending six years helming the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In 2019, he was named music director of the Colorado Music Festival, and continues in that role.

As the CSA's principal conductor, Oundjian will conduct six classics performances each season and will take a leading role in the artistic planning for the association, reimagining the traditional symphonic model. Oundjian had conversations with CSA members about what the orchestra should look like in the 21st Century.

“I found it really interesting and somewhat worthy, and that part of the discussion was, ‘Should an orchestra have a music director that conducts ten or twelve weeks, or sometimes even more, or is it better for an orchestra to have a principal conductor that does fewer weeks, but who is still heavily involved in all the planning and strategizing?’” Oundjian says. “There's more time to do more diverse repertoire and bring in more guest conductors, which is refreshing for the orchestra and refreshing for the public.

“I was very much intrigued by that model; I thought it was a really good idea," he continues. "It ended up that they came to me and asked, ‘Would you consider being our first principal conductor in this new model?’”

Oundjian, who splits his time between Boulder and Connecticut, notes that because he’s worked with the orchestra for nearly two decades and knows the musicians, the decision to take on the principal conductor role was much easier for him. Over the past year, he’s worked on the programming for next season and has been the artistic consultant for the last two seasons.

Principal conductors or music directors are responsible for every aspect of the orchestra, Oundjian explains, including the tenure of the players, the programming, planning relationships with donors and more.

"Every single thing that affects the orchestra is in the purview of a principal conductor, and that's really, to me, a very interesting life's work," he says. "I find that fantastic, because I love being with people, and especially people, of course, who love the orchestra. It's inspiring, and you meet a lot of extraordinary people.

"Planning seasons is really important," he continues. "You have to have a really eclectic imagination so that your programming looks interesting to everyone, and you have to understand that [there are] a lot of different kinds of audiences out there."

Although the Colorado Symphony’s 2023 season hasn’t been announced yet, Oundjian says it will include some of the greatest soloists in the world, adding that the orchestra will approach programming differently than in the past.

In the meantime, concert-goers will have three opportunities to see Oundjian on the podium through the end of the current concert season. He will conduct Holst’s "The Planets" from March 25 through 27, Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony No. 2 on April 16, and the Colorado Symphony’s season finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 from May 27 through 29.

“The appointment of Peter Oundjian as our Principal Conductor is a transformational moment for our orchestra and our organization,” Colorado Symphony Chief Artistic Officer Anthony Pierce says in a statement. “The Colorado Symphony is reimagining the possibilities for live symphonic music, and Peter will play an integral part in that process moving forward. Peter is a conductor and leader of the highest caliber, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Denver.”