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Press Release For Immediate Release

JEAN-MARIE ZEITOUNI APPOINTED MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE COLORADO MUSIC FESTIVAL & CENTER FOR MUSICAL ARTS

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/8/14
Contact: Andrew Bradford - bradford@COmusic.org | www.COmusic.org


Lafayette - Today the Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts announced the appointment of celebrated Canadian conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni as its next Music Director, only the third in the organization's thirty-eight year history.  During his initial three-year term, Zeitouni will oversee all artistic planning for the organization, lead five weeks of Festival orchestral concerts each summer season, and be involved in the Center's music education work.

 

"It is a real honor to join CMF & CMA as Music Director," said Zeitouni. "In both programs I conducted, the orchestra played sensationally and was a true pleasure to work with.  It was the kind of collaboration that every conductor dreams of.  With an orchestra of this caliber, an important music school in the Center, and a delightful community like Boulder, I could not be more excited for the opportunity to lead this marvelous organization into the future."

Zeitouni emerged as the consensus choice of the search committee following an extensive international search process that spanned nearly two years, attracted more than one hundred applicants, and culminated during the 2014 Festival season with appearances by three finalists. 

 

"From the very first time the search committee spoke with Jean-Marie during the early stages of the search process, we were thoroughly impressed with his dynamic personality, his understanding of the many roles of the 21st century Music Director, his passion for music and education, and his excitement about the Boulder community," said Ted Lupberger, CMF & CMA Board member and co-chair of the search committee.

In programming and leading two very different concerts, both of which garnered great acclaim, and in emphasizing a desire to connect CMF & CMA more deeply with the communities the organization serves, Zeitouni quickly became a favorite of audience members and the orchestra alike.

 

"With a firm base and commitment to our classical tradition, and an attraction to our community, Jean-Marie adds new perspective and enthusiasm to our desire to open up our opportunities to larger audiences and students," noted CMF & CMA Board President, Jane R. Houssiere. 

 

"With the appointment of Maestro Jean-Marie Zeitouni, the CMF & CMA gains not only a leader of high artistic ideals, but one with a vision for the future of this treasured institution," added Jeffrey Work, Principal Trumpet of the CMF Orchestra, who was involved in the search process.

 

Currently Artistic Director of I Musici de Montreal, Canada's leading chamber orchestra, Zeitouni is one of the brightest young conductors of his generation.  In addition to his regular work with these ensembles, Zeitouni is in great demand across the globe as a conductor of symphony orchestras and opera companies.  Recent seasons have included guest appearances with the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon, Seattle, Detroit, San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Toulouse, as well as the Pacific Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston.  Guest operatic conducting engagements have included the opera companies of Montreal, Marseille, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival.  Zeitouni also recently completed successful tenures as Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, in Ohio, and Principal Guest Conductor of the award-winning chamber orchestra "Les Violons du Roy."  

 

Zeitouni will make multiple trips to Boulder each year between September and May to participate in various special events, community outreach opportunities, strategic and artistic planning, and Center for Musical Arts programs.  For the 2015 Festival, he will conduct nearly five weeks of performances, including the Opening Night and season finale concerts.  Programs and artists for the Festival will be announced in the near future.


 

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Jean-Marie Zeitouni has emerged as one of the brightest young conductors of his generation. His eloquent yet fiery style, in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, has resulted in regular engagements with leading symphony orchestras and opera companies around the globe.  Currently Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts and Artistic Director of Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montr�al, Zeitouni recently completed tenures as Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, in Ohio, and Principal Guest Conductor of Les Violons du Roy, an ensemble with which he gave more than 250 concerts throughout North America over the last 13 years.


 
Zeitouni has also held various other positions with leading Canadian organizations, including music director of the Banff Centre "Opera as Theatre" program, associate conductor and chorus master at Op�ra de Montr�al and music director of its Young Artist Program (Atelier lyrique), chorus master at Op�ra de Qu�bec, choir director of the Qu�bec Symphony Orchestra, and director of the orchestra and opera workshop at Laval University.

 

As an operatic conductor, he has conducted at Op�ra de Montr�al, Op�ra de Qu�bec, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and at opera companies in Calgary, Edmonton, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Marseille, Toulouse, and Hanoi.  

 

Zeitouni has conducted nearly every major symphony orchestra in his native Canada, including those of Montr�al, Qu�bec, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Victoria, as well as the National Arts Centre, Ensemble Arion and the Club musical de Qu�bec. Outside of Canada, he has conducted symphony orchestras in Detroit, Seattle, Oregon, Carmel, San Antonio, Houston, Louisiana, Costa Mesa, Phoenix, Omaha, Honolulu, Huntsville, Cincinnati, Marseille, Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Xalapa (Mexico), as well as the Pacific Symphony and Boston's Handel and Haydn Society.

 

He also regularly conducts at major international music festivals, including Festival international de Lanaudi�re, Festival international du Domaine Forget, Round Top (Texas), Grant Park (Illinois), Elora, Parry Sound and Mostly Mozart (New York). 

 

Zeitouni studied with Maestro Raffi Armenian and graduated from the Montr�al Conservatory in conducting, percussion, and theory.  

 

 

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The Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts is one of the classical music industry's most dynamic, cutting-edge organizations.  Under the artistic leadership of Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni, CMF & CMA combines a world-class summer music festival and a comprehensive community music school under one organizational umbrella which enrich the lives of tens of thousands of individuals annually through access to the best of the world's music through performance and education.

 

Founded in 1977 by renowned Viennese conductor and violinist, Giora Bernstein, the Colorado Music Festival is one of the foremost summer music festivals in the world.  Drawing musicians from many of North America's finest symphony orchestras, including the Minnesota, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Oregon, Charlotte, and Phoenix symphonies, the Festival annually presents nearly thirty orchestral, chamber music, and educational performances in and around Boulder during its six week summer season.  From 2000 - 2013, CMF was led by Music Director Laureate, Michael Christie.  Christie is credited with elevating the quality of the orchestra and galvanizing audiences through compelling programming and performances of the highest level. 

 

With humble beginnings in 1995 in the town of Lafayette, the Center for Musical Arts has blossomed into one of the region's leading centers for music education.  In 2009, the Center merged with the Colorado Music Festival, and currently serves more than 550 students of all ages and 7,000 concertgoers and visitors each year.  The Center's comprehensive portfolio of programs includes a broad spectrum of music education opportunities and performances for citizens throughout Boulder Country and beyond. 

 

The Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts is a member of the League of American Orchestras and the National Guild for Community Arts Education.