Eckart Preu (born 24 August 1969) is an East German-born conductor.
At the age of 10 he became a member, soloist [1] and assistant conductor of the Boys Choir Dresdner Kreuzchor [2] In Germany he earned a Masters Degree in Conducting from the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar studying under Gunther Kahlert and Nicolás Pasquet.[3] He also studied under Jean-Sebastien Bereau at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in France.[4]
Preu came to the United States as winner of the National Conducting Competition of the German Academic Exchange Service (1996) [5] for graduate studies with Harold Farberman at the Hartt School of Music. Preu has been Music Director of the Spokane Symphony in Spokane, Washington since September 2004.[6] He has also been music director of the Stamford Symphony in Stamford, Connecticut since 2005.[7] For three seasons he was Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony. He also served as Resident Conductor with the American Symphony Orchestra and the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra.[8] Former posts include Music Director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony and Principal Conductor of the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (NY).[9] He was both Assistant and Guest Conductor at the Bard Music Festival. In Europe, Preu served as Music Director of L'Orchestre Internationale de Paris from 1993-95. Eckart Preu is also a frequent guest speaker for local businesses, community organizations and schools. He writes monthly articles for the local newspaper, the Stamford Advocate.
As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Jerusalem Symphony,[10] the Pecs Philharmonic (Hungary), and in Germany with the Jenaer Philharmonie,[11] the Hallesche Philharmonie,[12] the Thüringer Kammerorchester, and the Landessinfonieorchester Gotha.[13] Eckart Preu performed at Carnegie Hall in May 1999 and January 2008, and at the Sorbonne in Paris. His concerts have been aired by WPKT Stamford, KPBX Spokane,[14] WCVE Richmond,[15] and Jerusalem Radio. He has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists like Richard Stoltzman, Horacio Gutierrez, Vladimir Feltsman, Jean-Phillipe Collard, Leila Josefowicz and Sarah Chang.