Alan Gilbert (conductor)

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Alan Gilbert (born 1967) is an American conductor.

Contents

[edit] Biography

He was born in New York in 1967. His father, Michael Gilbert, is a retired violinist from the New York Philharmonic, while his Japanese mother, Yoko Takebe, continues to play as a member of the orchestra.[1] Growing up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. His parents were his first music teachers. Gilbert then studied the violin and viola at Harvard University, the Curtis Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School of Music. He has also studied privately with Georg Solti. He won first prize at the International Competition for Musical Performance in Geneva. In 1997 he received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award. He has served as Assistant Concertmaster of the orchestra of the Santa Fe Opera.

[edit] Career

Gilbert became the chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2000. He is scheduled to relinquish this position in 2008 to Sakari Oramo. In 2001, he made his conducting debut at Santa Fe Opera (SFO) in a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff, and in 2003, he became SFO's first Music Director. His initial contract concluded at the end of the 2006 season. In November 2006, it was reported that Gilbert would be on "official sabbatical from June through August 2007" to spend more time with his family.[2], and an examination of the SFO 2007 "Season Overview" page did not list him as conducting any of the 2007 productions. In May 2007, Santa Fe Opera announced that Gilbert had officially concluded his tenure as their music director.[3][4]

Gilbert has guest-conducted with many American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has been Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra since 2004.

On July 18, 2007, the New York Philharmonic named Gilbert as its next music director, effective with the 2009-2010 season.[5] He made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2001 and guest-conducted 31 concerts before being named to this position. His tenure is scheduled to begin in the 2009-2010 season, and to include a commitment of 12 subscription weeks of concerts per season, for five years. When he assumes this role, he will be the first native New Yorker to hold the title.[6]

[edit] Family

Gilbert is married to the Swedish cellist Kajsa William-Olsson, a member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. They have two children.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daniel J. Wakin. "A Son of the Orchestra Returns as Music Director", New York Times, 19 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 
  2. ^ "Q&A: Conductor Alan Gilbert, Caught Between Opera and Symphonic Work (And Loving It)", Playbill Arts, 18 November 2006
  3. ^ Matthew Westphal, "Alan Gilbert Steps Down as Music Director of Santa Fe Opera". Playbill Arts, 8 May 2007.
  4. ^ Anne Constable, "Santa Fe Opera music director steps down". The New Mexican, 9 May 2007.
  5. ^ Daniel J. Wakin. "The Philharmonic Picks New Music Director", New York Times, 18 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-18. 
  6. ^ Benjamin Ivry. "A New Face for the Phil", New York Sun, 19 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Andrew Davis and Paavo Järvi		 Principal Conductor, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
2000-present		 Succeeded by
Sakari Oramo (designate)
Preceded by
(no prior Music Director)		 Music Director, Santa Fe Opera
2003-2007		 Succeeded by
Kenneth Montgomery (interim director)