Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s new Chief Conductor is Eugene Tzigane

Published 01.11.2022

Autumn 2023 first season planned by Tzigane

Eugene Tzigane is the designated new Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra. His contract starts from the beginning of the year 2023 and the first season planned by him is Autumn 2023.  Mr. Tzigane, winner of many Conductor Competitions, is known, for example, for his diverse musical background. He has been a regular guest conductor in Kuopio since 2015.

Born in Japan, raised on both sides of the Pacific and now based in Europe, Eugene Tzigane, has been appointed as the new Chief Conductor of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra in Finland. His contract starts in the beginning of the year 2023 and the first season planned by him is Autumn 2023. The two-year contract includes an option for another two years. ”I am humbled to be asked to lead the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and am honored by the trust the musicians have bestowed on me.  Knowing the orchestra as I do and how they’ve developed in recent years, I believe we have artistically exciting times ahead of us”, says Tzigane.

Eugene Tzigane grew up in an artistic family and from an early age he was exposed to music of vastly different origins from Classical and Jazz, to Eastern European folk music and dance. In recent years his insatiable curiosity has driven him to explore and discover performance practices of different periods of music.

Tzigane has studied at the prestigious Juilliard School, and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. He has won several prices in Conductor Competitions. His reputation as a versatile force on the podium is witnessed by his engagements from Japan to Australia. With a natural flair for working with singers, Tzigane has also enjoyed conducting opera, for example, in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stockholm. The orchestra and audiences alike in Kuopio have enjoyed his choices including especially forgotten works and music by minority composers.

The search process for finding a new KSO Chief Conductor that started in Spring 2022 included also hearing the orchestra’s musicians and the KSO Artistic Committee. ”I am happy that the orchestra’s musicians chose especially Eugene Tzigane as their new Chief Conductor. He will be an Artistic Director with broadminded visions combined with strong emotional expression and musical determination. Serving and inspiring the audiences and the needs of the people of this region, however, are always at the center. Our cooperation with Mr. Tzigane has always been very productive during the past years and we have high and positive hopes for his season”, says Katariina Kummala, the director of the Kuopio Music Centre and the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.

Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s Second Conductor is Atso Almila. Professor and maestro Jorma Panula was appointed as the KSO Honorary Conductor in 2010.

KUOPIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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