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Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor

b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up January 2012 Jean-Marie Zeitouni, music director of the Columbus Symphony and recently appointed principal conductor and artistic director designate of I Musici de Montréal, has emerged as one of Canada’s brightest young conductors whose eloquent yet fiery style in repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music results in regular re-engagements across North America. He also enjoys a close association with Les Violons du Roy that goes back many years, first as conductor-in-residence, then as associate conductor, and since 2008 as principal guest conductor. Over the years, he has led the ensemble in more than 200 performances in the province of Québec, across Canada and in Mexico. In 2006, he recorded his first CD with Les Violons du Roy entitled “Piazzolla” which received a JUNO Award for Classical Album Of The Year in the category Solo or Chamber Ensemble in 2007. They also recorded two subsequent CDs: ”Bartok” in 2008 and “Britten” in 2010. Appearances in 2011/12 see him conduct the major Canadian orchestras, including subscription concerts with the Vancouver Symphony, Toronto Symphony and Montreal Symphony as well as a return to the Edmonton Symphony. In the US he leads the Seattle Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and Handel & Haydn Society, and will bow in the pit of the St. Louis Opera for a Così fan tutte production in June 2012. 2010/11 brought a slew of return engagements in North America. Highlights in Canada included a Werther production with the Montreal Opera, and engagements with the Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Quebec Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia and I Musici de Montréal in a rare guest-appearance. In the US, he conducted the Oregon Symphony, San Antonio Symphony and Rigoletto with the Cincinnati Opera. In Canada, he returned in 2009/10 for three separate engagements with the Edmonton Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and the National Arts Center Orchestra. He appeared at the Lanaudière Festival and for the first time with the Toronto Symphony (conducting Handel’s Messiah and Brukner 9th Symphony). In addition, he made subscription debuts with Winnipeg Symphony and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. In the US, he debuted in a subscription series with the Omaha Symphony, and returned to the San Antonio Symphony and Columbus Symphony. 2008/09 was another impressive season for Zeitouni. He made his subscription debut with numerous major orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and the symphonies of San Antonio, Oregon, and Omaha, as well as debuts at the Round Top Festival, Grant Park, and the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston. After his success the previous season, he returned to the Honolulu Symphony and made his annual appearances at the Lanaudière Festival, Canada’s most prestigious music festival. He also led several opera productions from the pit, among them Faust at Calgary Opera and Mozart’s Il re pastore with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. During the 2007/08 season, Zeitouni debuted with the Edmonton Opera in a production of Carmen. He also conducted Lucie de Lammermoor by Donizetti at Cincinnati Opera in its first staging of that work ever. Equally in demand on the symphonic stage, he guest-conducted the Honolulu Symphony, Columbus Symphony and Huntsville Symphony. He made his debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, returned to the Festival Lanaudière, the Montreal Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico. He also made his European debut conducting the Philharmonique de Marseille. As part of his 2006/07 season, he conducted the highly anticipated world premiere of John Estacio and John Murrell’s Frobisher at Calgary Opera in a co-production with The Banff Centre. He also led Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at Opéra de Québec, Suor Angelica, Il Tabarro, Il Mondo della luna and The Turn of the Screw at the Montreal Opera and he made his long-awaited debut with Glimmerglass Opera to lead Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach. On the symphonic stage he conducted on two separate occasions the Monterey Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, The Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra and the Vancouver Cantata Singers in Handel’s Messiah. From 2002-2006 Jean-Marie Zeitouni was associate conductor and chorus master at l’Opera de Montreal and was Music Director of their Young Artist Program. He was also music director of the Banff Centre "Opera as Theatre" program (2005-06), chorus master at l’Opéra de Québec (2003-05) and choir director of the Québec Symphony Orchestra (2001-03). He was as well director of the orchestra and opera workshop of the Faculty of Music at Laval University (1999-2002). In the summer of 2004, Zeitouni acted as assistant conductor at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City for the Jonathan Miller production of Così fan tutte. Jean-Marie Zeitouni graduated from the Montreal Conservatory in conducting, percussion and theory. He studied with Maestro Raffi Armenian. . b i o......r e v i e w s..... back to roster...up . . . .

. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up Seattle Symphony Canadian guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni — who conducted the oratorio Saturday at Benaroya Hall as if his life depended on it — provided blazing tempos and mercurial twists in one of the most memorable "Messiahs" this city has seen. Zeitouni took lots of chances. The "Hallelujah" Chorus, for instance, began not as the usual grandiose declaration, but instead rather quietly — the better to build the drama into a gradual crescendo of considerable impact. Zeitouni's interpretive choices were underscored by his decision to have the strings play without vibrato, in a modern interpretation of 18th-century style. There was no sense of the routine or humdrum; instead, there were huge, dramatic pauses (notably at the ending of the "Hallelujah" Chorus) and movements taken at warp speed (such as "He Trusted in God"). It was an edgy and exciting reading, with a responsive orchestra and an eager Seattle Symphony Chorale following Zeitouni's every sweeping gesture. The life-and-death drama of the score was fully realized in this performance.- The Seattle Times, 12/17/11 Montreal Opera (Massenet’s Werther) Jean-Marie Zeitouni supervised a lyrical and fluid treatment of the score, with the MSO sounding lovely in the pit. – Montreal Gazette, 1/24/11 Festival de Lanaudière It's a wonder that conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni was still standing at the concert's end to receive the whoops and hollers of the appreciative 5000-strong crowd. The breadth of this concert showed off the remarkable talents of Zeitouni. In a program that could have been mawkish and sentimental, the maestro demonstrated balance and restraint. Yet, although he treated the composers with infinite respect, Zeitouni also understood their dramatic arc. The works radiated musical theatricality that included beautiful modulation and articulation. – The Globe and Mail, 7/10/10 Toronto Symphony Zeitouni's tempos are also steadier, a choice that could be ascribed jointly to a desire for safety and the habits any musician might reasonably acquire as principal guest conductor of Les Violons du Roy. But steady does not mean shapeless, and the structural integrity of this performance was never in doubt. Nor was personal expression lacking, as the amply gesticulating Zeitouni pleaded openly for urgency. – Montreal Gazette, 6/10/10 Toronto Symphony Zeitouni’s sensitivity as an accompanist was remarkable, as he kept the orchestra in perfect sync with the piano from beginning to end. – The Star, 6/10/10 Toronto Symphony (debut) From the opening chords at Wednesday night's opening performance at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto debutant conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni showed himself very much in charge. His dynamically nuanced, rhythmically lively and temperamentally lyrical approach to the score filled the two-hour score with the kind of vitality that transcends centuries of cultural change. Zeitouni has spent several years with Bernard Labadie and the stellar Violons du Roy, and has clearly learned his musical history lessons well. –The Star, 12/17/09 Winnipeg Symphony Montreal-based maestro Jean-Marie Zeitouni led the orchestra with gusto, energizing the players with every gesture communicative. His conducting without a baton created an even greater immediacy with the musicians, from Waltz King Johann Strauss' lilting Artist's Life to Mendelssohn's The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave). – Winnipeg Free Press, 11/16/09 Columbus Symphony Canadian maestro Jean-Marie Zeitouni returned to the Ohio Theatre podium last night to lead the Columbus Symphony in a memorable concert full of power and excitement. The conductor, who from a distance resembles a young Pavarotti, demonstrated fine control of the orchestra and good command of dynamics as he encouraged the players to offer up their best. An emphatic, almost driven interpretation of Beethoven's Overture of Fidelio ushered in the evening. Fine balance allowed listeners to hear every voice clearly, even when the full orchestra was sounding at top volume. Zeitouni and the orchestra saved their finest work for Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World"). The young maestro appeared deeply involved in the music-making, leading the players with swinging arm gestures and full-body moves, all calculated to produce the ultimate in power and excitement. – The Columbus Dispatch, 11/8/09 Montreal Symphony If Zeitouni did not engage in the metric brinksmanship we associate with Franz-Paul Decker in this music, he kept the rhythms lively and the textures light. He also did some 1-2-3 footwork on the podium, quite unconsciously. […] How far can we go in revising the Viennese model? I am sure Zeitouni would do Webern well. - Montreal Gazette, 9/17/09 Opera Theatre of St. Louis (debut) Mozart’s Il re pastore Appreciate conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni's spirited work in the pit with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/8/09 Honolulu Symphony Conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni maintained an absolutely perfect balance throughout the evening, ensuring that every note Sumi Jo sang could be heard, yet allowing the orchestra to thunder in climaxes. Whether highlighting a soloist or integrating multiple groups, Zeitouni kept the music's focus clear and elicited outstanding performances. [..] The stage was so full, it spilled into the wings, but Zeitouni wove the myriad forces into a single ensemble that could be both delicate and thunderous. The Honolulu Symphony delivered a powerful performance that ended with enthusiastic cheering. - Honolulu Advertiser, 4/13/09 Columbus Symphony (debut) Guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, making his Columbus Symphony debut, seems a diamond in the rough. He clearly has a lot of big ideas about the music he is conducting and appears quite accomplished at communicating them via an athletic, sometimes flamboyant style at the front of the ensemble. […] The rendition overall was well-tended by the conductor, who clearly tried to extract the utmost excitement from the players and the music. - The Columbus Dispatch, 3/14/09 b i o.......r e v i e w s back to roster...up . .

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