Marking his Ojai Festival debut as Music Director, American conductor David Robertson has established himself as one of today’s most sought after conductors, recognized for his consummate musicianship, dynamic presence and imaginative programming, which has charmed musicians and audiences worldwide. Combining passion and intellect with an extensive knowledge of orchestral and operatic repertoire, he has been hailed as much for his technical and interpretive mastery as for his versatility. Fall 2007 finds Mr. Robertson embarking on his third season as Music Director of the 128-year-old Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, while continuing as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a post to which he was appointed in 2005.

In addition to his commitments with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Robertson continues to guest conduct nationally and internationally throughout the 2007-08 season. Highlights of the season include a residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic entitled Concrete Frequency, which showcases three separate programs. In February 2008, David Robertson brings the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall for two concerts, the first presenting Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony (February 15), and the second, the New York premiere of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony, a Carnegie Hall, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and BBC co-commission, as well as works by Brahms and Berg (February 16). Additional U.S. engagements include performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera. Internationally, Mr. Robertson will lead the BBC Symphony Orchestra in two audio-visual concerts that will be broadcast on BBC4 Classical Music TV. The programs are entitled Seeing Debussy, Hearing Monet, which links the musical and visual works of two “Impressionist” masters (November 29, 2007); and Bartók/Van Gogh: Organic Symmetries, in which Van Gogh’s paintings and sketches are juxtaposed with Bartók’s music, illuminating intriguing parallels in the works of these two artists who found inspiration in folklore and the natural world (March 8, 2008). Additional international guest engagements include appearances with the Tonhalle Orchestra (Zürich), Swedish Radio Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

A recognized expert in 20th and 21st-century music with extensive international conducting credits, Mr. Robertson has held several posts abroad. Prior to his Saint Louis Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestra appointments, Mr. Robertson was the first artist ever to simultaneously hold the posts of Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and Artistic Director of that city’s Auditorium, posts he held from 2000–2004. From 1992–2000, he was Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, of which Pierre Boulez is Honorary President, and from 1985-1987, he was resident conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Additional international conducting credits include the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony, Hamburg NDR Symphony Orchestra, Bayerisches Staatsorchester in Munich, Staatskapelle Berlin, Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, among others. A popular guest conductor in North America as well, Mr. Robertson regularly guest conducts the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. Equally successful on the operatic scene with over 45 operas in his repertoire, Mr. Robertson’s opera house credits include the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Opéra de Lyon, Bayerische Staatsoper, Théâtre du Châtelet, Hamburg State Opera and San Francisco Opera.

David Robertson has made numerous recordings for the Sony Classical, Naive, EMI/Virgin Classics, Atlantic/Erato, Nuema, Ades Valois and Naxos labels. His recordings include works by such composers as Adams, Bartók, Boulez, Carter, Dusapin, Ginastera, Lalo, Milhaud, Reich, Saint-Saëns, and Silvestrov.

Hailed “a natural teacher” by The New York Times, David Robertson has devoted time throughout his career to work with students and young artists. He is credited with creating and leading many outreach programs with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Orchestre National de Lyon, and has worked with students at the Paris Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Tanglewood, the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland, the Aspen Music Festival and as part of Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series.

Born in Santa Monica, California, Mr. Robertson was educated at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he studied French horn and composition before turning to orchestral conducting. David Robertson is the recipient of Columbia University’s 2006 Ditson Conductor’s Award, and he and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra received the ASCAP Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming for the 2005-06 season from the American Symphony Orchestra League. Musical America named him Conductor of the Year for 2000. In 1997, Mr. Robertson received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award, the premier prize of its kind, given to exceptionally gifted American conductors. In May 2007, he was granted an honorary doctorate from Maryville University. David Robertson has two teenage sons and twin sons born this Fall, and is married to pianist Orli Shaham.

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