Peter Oundjian

Peter Oundjian is a Canadian conductor and former concert violinist, best known as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for many years. Since retiring from violin performance due to a hand injury, he has built a conducting career across North America and Europe, leading major orchestras and mentoring young musicians. Listeners can expect a conductor attentive to string sound and clear structural shape, drawing on his own chamber music background.

Oundjian's conducting is shaped by years as a violinist in the Tokyo String Quartet, and it shows in how he balances string sections and shapes phrases with a chamber musician's ear for detail. In Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, expect him to bring out the interplay between instrumental voices before the choral finale arrives, letting the famous "Ode to Joy" theme grow gradually rather than announcing itself too soon. He tends to favor flowing tempos over extremes, and works to keep the architecture of long symphonic movements audible even at climactic moments. The pairing with Gabriela Ortiz's "Yanga," a work inspired by a legendary Afro-Mexican freedom fighter, suggests a program built around themes of liberation and communal celebration, complementing the choral triumph of the Beethoven that follows.

Peter Oundjian was born in Toronto in 1955 and trained as a violinist, studying at the Juilliard School in New York. He spent over a decade as first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet, performing extensively before a hand injury ended his career as a string player. He then turned to conducting, eventually becoming music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for many years and during which he was credited with revitalizing the orchestra's programming and audience base. He also served as music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and has held conducting posts with other ensembles internationally. Oundjian has guest conducted widely across North America, Europe, and Asia, and has been involved in music education and mentorship programs for young conductors and musicians.