Yannick Nézet-Séguin

In December 2006, Yannick Nézet-Séguin was announced as the next Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, succeeding Valery Gergiev for the start of the 2008–09 season. He is also the Artistic Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal and has garnered three coveted Prix Opus prizes, namely the Découverte de l’année in 1999 and Prix du public in both 1999 and 2000, awarded by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique. He is the recipient of the 2000 Virginia Parker Prize, given by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Born in Montreal in 1975, Yannick Nézet-Séguin began piano lessons at the age of five and later entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied piano with Anisia Campos and composition, chamber music, and conducting. While attending the Conservatoire, he also studied choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and continued his training near a number of famous conductors, among them the great Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini between 1997 and 1998.

Subsequent to his appointment in April 2000 as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, he has worked with all the main orchestras across Canada and remains a regular guest at the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and NAC Ottawa orchestra.

Following his European debut in November with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, he has received an unbroken string of re-invitations from every orchestra with whom he has worked, including the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic,Sydney Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony.

The forthcoming season will see his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Deutsche Symphonieorchester Berlin.

He records for ATMA Classique and his Orchestre Métropolitain recording of Nino Rota’s La Strada was awarded two Opus prizes and their Mahler Symphony nr. 4 received three Opus Awards. His Saint-Saens Symphony nr. 3 and most recently Bruckner Symphony nr. 7 have also met with critical acclaim.