The Philadelphia Orchestra
Renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and
imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of "firsts" in music making,
The Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the preeminent orchestras in the world.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in
its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski,
Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, as well as
the orchestra's current chief conductor, Charles Dutoit. In the 2012-2013 season, Yannick
Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music
director designate in 2010, Mr. Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic
music and into the vivid world of opera and choral music.
Philadelphia is home, and the orchestra nurtures an important relationship with patrons
who support the main season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra
also performs for Philadelphia audiences at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Penn's
Landing, and other regional venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association continues to own
the Academy of Music-a National Historic Landmark-as it has since 1957.
The ensemble maintains an important tradition of presenting educational programs for local
audiences as well. Today the orchestra executes myriad education and community partnership
programs, notably its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts,
eZseatU, and more.
Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, The Philadelphia
Orchestra touches the lives of countless music lovers around the world. The orchestra
annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week
residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York and a strong partnership with
the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Please visit philorch.org for more information.
Charles Dutoit
In the 2010-2011 season, The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrated its 30-year artistic
collaboration with Charles Dutoit, who has held the title of chief conductor since 2008.
With the 2012-2013 season, the orchestra will honor Mr. Dutoit by bestowing upon him the
title of conductor laureate. Also artistic director and principal conductor of the Royal
Philharmonic, he regularly collaborates with the world's pre-eminent orchestras and
soloists. He has recorded extensively for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Philips, CBS,
and Erato, and his more than 200 recordings have garnered over 40 awards and
distinctions.
From 1977 to 2002, Mr. Dutoit was artistic director of the Orchestre symphonique de
Montréal. Between 1990 and 2010, he was artistic director and principal conductor of The
Philadelphia Orchestra's summer festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and from
1991 to 2001 he was music director of the Orchestre National de France. In 1996, he was
appointed music director of Tokyo's NHK Symphony Orchestra; today he is music director
emeritus. Mr. Dutoit has been artistic director of both the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival
and the Miyazaki International Music Festival, as well as the Canton International Summer
Music Academy in Guangzhou, which he founded in 2005. In 2009, he became music director of
the Verbier Festival Orchestra. While still in his early 20s, Mr. Dutoit was invited by
Herbert von Karajan to conduct the Vienna State Opera and has since conducted at Covent
Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos
Aires.
In 1991, Mr. Dutoit was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia. In 1995, he
was named Grand Officier de l'Ordre National du Québec, and in 1996 Commandeur de l'Ordre
des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France. In 1998, he was invested as an
Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada, the country's highest award of merit, and this
past May was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of
Music.
Mr. Dutoit was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and his musical training included violin,
viola, piano, percussion, music history, and composition in Geneva, Siena, Venice, and
Boston. A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political
science, art, and architecture, Mr. Dutoit has traveled all the nations of the world.