Michael Stern (conductor)

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Michael Stern (born December 17, 1959) is an American symphony conductor. Currently, he serves as the music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2019, he was also named the fourth music director of the Stamford Symphony in Stamford, Connecticut [now known at Orchestra LUMOS].[1] He is also the founding music director of the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee. In 2021, Stern was appointed as Music Director of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, CO. He is only the third Music Director in the organization's history.

Early life and education

Stern is the son of violinist

Philadelphia, graduating in 1986. Stern also studied for one summer at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute and for two summers at the Pierre Monteux Memorial School in Hancock, Maine.[2]

Career

In May 1986, only weeks before his graduation from the Curtis Institute, Stern auditioned for and won the job of conducting assistant at The

Avery Fisher Hall.[3]

That year, Stern became the permanent guest conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon in Lyon, France. During his four years with the Orchestre National, he also appeared with orchestras in Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, and Toulouse, as well as others throughout Europe.

In 1996, he left the Orchestre National to become chief conductor of the

Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, a prominent recording and broadcast orchestra in Germany, making him the first American to hold the position of chief conductor in that orchestra's history. His work there is also notable for the orchestra's many recordings of American classical music during his tenure, including discs of works by Henry Cowell and Charles Ives. He also led the orchestra on tours of Spain, Portugal, China and Switzerland. He stepped down as chief conductor in 2000.[citation needed
]

After leaving the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stern founded the

Vienna Radio Symphony on a tour of China.[citation needed
]

During this time, Stern also continued guest conducting orchestras worldwide, including the

Tonhalle Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony of Taiwan, the Singapore Symphony, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra
.

On September 30, 2005, Stern accepted an appointment as music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, a position he currently holds.[4][citation needed] He also continues his guest conducting travels and his work with the IRIS Orchestra.

In March 2014, Michael Stern made history with The Kansas City Symphony and Engage Mobile Solutions when they used four pair of Google Glass at the same time to record a performance of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Isaac Stern's son, Michael Stern, takes to the Stamford Symphony podium".
  2. ^ Swed, Mark (December 12, 2010). "Music review: Michael Stern makes impressive Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra debut". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ Crutchfield, Will (September 6, 1986). "CONCERT: BERNSTEIN INTRODUCES 3 PROTEGES". Retrieved November 24, 2017 – via query.NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ "Kansas City Symphony Extends Contract for Music Director Michael Stern through 2020, KSO press release, Oct. 1, 2015". Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. ^ Matthew Barksdale. "Engage Mobile, Google Glass Technology Provide Groundbreaking Glimpse Inside Kansas City Symphony". Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2014-03-16.

External links

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