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Vahan Mardirossian, the Armenian conductor and virtuoso pianist, has just been named Chief Conductor of City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK). He assumes the role from the orchestra’s 2019/2020 season. His recent positions include Principal Conductor of the Caen Symphony Orchestra in France since 2010 and Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia since 2011. His inaugural concert will take place on 30 September 2019 at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, 8:00pm with French violin virtuoso Augustin Dumay as the featured soloist. The concert also marks the opening of CCOHK’s 20th anniversary season. Later in the season Vahan Mardirossian will also be featured in a concert for Le French May Arts Festival 2020 as both conductor and piano soloist. Henry CC Chan, Chairman of CCOHK’s Board of Directors, comments “We are all excited to welcome the renowned Vahan Mardirossian as Chief Conductor. He's a big talent capable of opening up a new chapter for the orchestra.”
Born in Armenia and based in Paris, Vahan Mardirossian graduated with distinction from the Paris Conservatory. After participating in masterclasses with Kurt Masur in 2006 he began an international career as both conductor and piano soloist. This season he will appear as guest conductor with the New Japan Philharmonic, the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie among others. Praised by Le Monde for his “powerful virtuosity and for the delicacy of his touch”, Vahan Mardirossian gives frequent recitals as a piano soloist under the baton of conductors including Paavo Järvi, Yuri Ahronovitch and Kurt Masur. He is often heard giving performances of major piano concertos while conducting from the piano.
Vahan Mardirossian resumes the position of Jean Thorel who served as CCOHK’s chief conductor from 2008 to 2016. His previous concerts as guest conductor of CCOHK include a concert in 2018 as part of Le French May Arts Festival with the Habanera Saxophone Quartet followed by a tour to the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. CCOHK’s Founder and Artistic Director Leanne Nicholls comments: “After a long search we are looking forward to the start of our third decade with Vahan Mardirossian as Chief Conductor. Vahan Mardirossian is both a charismatic musician and a strong musical leader with years of experience building orchestras. He is also an active soloist of the highest calibre. This distinguishes him from many of his peers, and brings another dynamic level to CCOHK unmatched elsewhere in Hong Kong and in Asia.” Thrilled by his new post, Vahan Mardirossian adds: “All exciting journeys begin with a first step. I first conducted this marvellous orchestra just a year ago thanks to the invitation of CCOHK’s Artistic Director Leanne Nicholls. From our first collaboration, I sensed the professionalism and dedication of the players and a great desire to make music. I’m honoured to take up the role of Chief Conductor and to take over the legacy left by former Chief Conductor Jean Thorel. There’s huge potential and I am looking forward to playing my part in making CCOHK the major reference chamber orchestra in Asia. May the journey begin!”
More about Vahan Mardirossian
Vahan Mardirossian was born in Armenia and graduated with distinction from the Paris Conservatory. He enjoys an international career as both a conductor and a piano soloist and has given concerto performances under the baton of Kurt Masur, Paavo Järvi and Yuri Ahronovitch. His most recent posts include Principal Conductor of the Caen Symphony Orchestra in France and Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. He has also appeared as a guest conductor in Europe and South America with orchestras including the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville in Spain, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra, the Russian Philharmonic and the Bogota Symphony Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor in Japan he has been invited to conduct the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Japan, New-Japan, Tokyo and Kansai Philharmonic Orchestras. Vahan Mardirossian has collaborated with many world-class soloists including Augustin Dumay, Lars Vogt, Richard Galliano, Sergei Babayan, Ivry Gitlis, Viktoria Postnikova and Daishin Kashimoto. He is also internationally renowned as a concert pianist giving frequent recitals and performing as soloist while conducting from the piano. He has performed as soloist with the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2015 he has been President of the Jury of the Istanbul International Piano Competition. In 2016 he received the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia from the President of Armenia. He was appointed Chief Conductor of City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in September 2019.
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City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong
City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) holds a unique position as one of Asia’s leading chamber orchestras. Members are professional musicians experienced in playing diverse styles ranging from Baroque and classical to East-West crossover, tango, Bollywood and jazz. Since its establishment in 1999 CCOHK has performed with many world-class artists including Sir James Galway, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Neville Marriner, Christian Lindberg, Sarah Chang, Philippe Entremont, Julian Lloyd Webber, Edgar Meyer, Branford Marsalis, Richard Galliano and The King’s Singers. The orchestra has also collaborated with celebrities including Hayley Westenra, Richard Clayderman, Robin Gibb, Dame Edna Everage and Canto-pop stars Sandy Lam, Hins Cheung and Hacken Lee. Additional highlights include collaborations with the Vienna Boys Choir, The American Boychoir, the Warsaw Boys Choir, the Swedish Voices Chamber Choir and Choeur Britten. On tour CCOHK has been invited to perform in Italy, Taipei, Beijing, Chengdu and at the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. At home, CCOHK is in high demand with performing engagements for Hong Kong Ballet, Le French May Arts Festival, RTHK Radio 4, the World Harp Congress and The Hong Kong International Piano Competition. In support of contemporary music CCOHK has staged world premieres of works by Daniel Binelli, Dobrinka Tabakova, Detlev Glanert, Mao Yuan and Alexander Prior, and by Hong Kong’s top composers at Musicarama and the Hong Kong Contemporary Music Festival. CDs include an internationally acclaimed release on OUR Recordings featuring the world premiere of Richard Harvey’s Concerto Incantanto with Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri. CCOHK’s mission to cultivate young audiences for classical music in Hong Kong has led to the creation of several original fully-staged productions incorporating actors. These include Magnificent Mozart, The Star Bach, Vivaldi Unmasked and Bug Symphony which won the Public Choice Award at the YAMawards in Portugal 2017. At the helm of CCOHK’s artistic and executive planning is CCOHK’s founder Leanne Nicholls, herself a prize-winning performer who was awarded a commendation certificate from the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2009. French conductor Jean Thorel served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2016. Armenian conductor and virtuoso pianist Vahan Mardirossian was appointed Chief Conductor in September 2019.
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