The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has announced the appointment of violinist and conductor THOMAS ZEHETMAIR (pronounced ZHAYetmair) as an artistic partner of the orchestra beginning in the 2010-11 season. In addition to his extensive background as a chamber musician and concerto soloist, Zehetmair conducts regularly and has served as music director of England’s Northern Sinfonia since 2002. He has performed with such distinguished organizations as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and NHK Tokyo Orchestra, and has led numerous European orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Helsinski Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. In 1994 he founded the Zehetmair Quartet, an ensemble whose 2003 recording of works by Schumann on the Diapason d’Or label was named Record of the Year by Gramophone. In his first season at the SPCO Zehetmair will pair works by Haydn with contemporary compositions. As announced previously on The Hub and in Symphony, Zehetmair will be joined as a new artistic partner in 2010-11 by conductor Edo de Waart. The SPCO’s current artistic partners are Roberto Abbado, Dawn Upshaw, and Christian Zacharias; Douglas Boyd concluded his term as an artistic partner in September 2009.
Photo of Thomas Zehetmair by Dan Brady
Posted October 7, 2009
