Emil de Cou

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Emil Anthony de Cou

Emil de Cou, Conductor
Background information
Born Los Angeles, California
Occupations Conductor, arranger, writer
Instruments Horn, piano
Years active 1982 - present

Emil de Cou is an American conductor who became associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) in September 2003 and has been an active participant in a wide range of NSO performances and events since his debut at Wolf Trap in 2000. He has led the orchestra on residency tours in five states, in subscription concerts at the Kennedy Center and on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building. In 2005 de Cou was named NSO at Wolf Trap Festival Conductor. He has most recently been named the music director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet starting with the 2011-2012 season. As such, in 2013, he was named by the New York Times critic Alastair Macaulay to be "probably...America’s finest ballet conductor."[1]

In 2007 de Cou conducted a concert with the NSO @ Wolf Trap in collaboration with NASA. It was a program titled "Fantastic Planet - a symphonic video spectacular" and incorporated the first ever in-time downloadable podcast (available on iTunes) to accompany a symphony orchestra concert. NASA's images spanned from the creation of the Earth and deep space to videos of life underwater, glaciers crashing into frozen seas, western deserts and canyons, volcanos and hurricanes which were projected overhead with music performed by the NSO and the Soldier's Chorus of the United States Army Field Band. The Washington Post wrote in an article in the Technology section; "De Cou was conducting another of his multimedia experiments aimed at supercharging the classical concert experience and drawing in new listeners. As the NSO's Wolf Trap conductor, he has mounted two wildly successful concerts of video-game music in the past year, and last summer performed the music to The Wizard of Oz as the film played on a huge screen above the orchestra. The shows drew thousands of new listeners".

In June 2003, Great Performances (PBS) aired the ballet Othello with the San Francisco Ballet led by de Cou. The music to Othello by Elliot Goldenthal, was recorded by de Cou for Varèse Sarabande. Also recorded by de Cou is Debussy Rediscovered for Arabesque, which includes the world premiere recording of de Cou’s reconstruction of the original 1887 version of Printemps-Suite Symphonique, for wordless chorus and orchestra. In July 2003 de Cou conducted the National Symphony in the world premiere performance of the same work at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. A champion of American music, Mr. de Cou has edited and performed several unpublished works by Charles T. Griffes including the world premiere recording of The Kairn of Koridwen, issued by Koch International.

Emil de Cou also acts as musical advisor to NASA as the nation's space agency celebrates the 50th anniversary of their founding and the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. This has led to De Cou being nicknamed the "Principal Air & Space Conductor" by a critic at WETA-FM radio station.[2] De Cou is a resident of San Francisco where he was Principal Pops Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and acting music director of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. For his ongoing work with NASA de Cou was awarded the agency's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal by Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. at the NSO @ Wolf Trap performance of The Planets in July 2012, the first musician to receive that honor.

Notes

  1. ↑ Macaulay, Alastair (17 February 2013). "Performers From the West Coast Serve Up Balanchine". New York Times (New York, United States). Retrieved 17 February 2013. 
  2. ↑ WETA, "July in Music" 2010

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