The Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world, renowned for
its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations
of audiences, and admired for a legacy of innovation in music making. The orchestra is
inspiring the future and transforming its rich tradition of achievement, sustaining the
highest level of artistic quality, but also challenging-and exceeding-that level by
creating powerful musical experiences for audiences at home and around the world.
Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth
artistic leader of the orchestra in fall 2012, and has been embraced by the musicians of
the orchestra, audiences, and the community itself. Yannick's concerts of diverse
repertoire attract sold-out houses, and he has established a regular forum for connecting
with concertgoers through Post-Concert Conversations. Under Yannick's leadership, the
orchestra returns to recording with a newly released CD on the Deutsche Grammophon label of
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. In
Yannick's inaugural season, the orchestra has also returned to the radio airwaves, with
weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM.
Philadelphia is home, and the orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with
patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center, but also those who enjoy the
orchestra's other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn's Landing, and other venues.
The orchestra is also a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the US. Having been the
first American orchestra to perform in China in 1973 at the request of President Nixon,
today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the
Performing Arts in Beijing. The orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall, while also
enjoying annual residencies in Saratoga Springs, New York, and at the Bravo! Vail
festival.
Musician-led initiatives, including highly successful PlayIns, shine a spotlight on the
orchestra's musicians as they spread out from the stage into the community. The orchestra's
commitment to its education and community partnership initiatives manifests itself in
numerous other ways, including concerts for families and students, and eZseatU, a program
that allows full-time college students to attend an unlimited number of orchestra concerts
for a $25 annual membership fee. Visit philorch.org for more information.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues his inspired leadership as the eighth music director of The
Philadelphia Orchestra, which began in the fall of 2012. His highly collaborative style,
deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to
orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. He has taken the
orchestra to new musical heights. His second season builds on the momentum of the first,
with highlights that have included a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, for which
three leading composers were commissioned to write solo works for three of the orchestra's
principal players. The season ends with a unique, theatrically staged presentation of
Strauss's revolutionary opera Salome, a first-ever co-production with Opera
Philadelphia.
Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the
most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008, he has been music director of the
Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic; since
2000, he has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal's Orchestre
Métropolitain. He became the first-ever mentor conductor of the Curtis Institute of Music's
conducting fellows program in the fall of 2013. He has made wildly successful appearances
with the world's most revered ensembles and has conducted critically acclaimed performances
at many of the leading opera houses.
Yannick and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his
leadership, the orchestra returns to recording with a newly released CD on that label of
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. Yannick continues a
fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for DG, BIS, and
EMI/Virgin; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for
ATMA Classique.
A native of Montreal, Yannick studied at that city's Conservatory of Music and continued
lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at
Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick's honors are an appointment as Companion of the
Order of Canada, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada's National Arts Centre Award,
the Prix Denise-Pelletier, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Quebec in
Montreal. Visit philorch.org/conductor to read Yannick's full bio.