Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra announces new Music Director

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra announces new Music Director

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra is thrilled to announce the appointment of its new Music Director from 2016, Italian-Danish conductor Giordano Bellincampi.

Maestro Bellincampi assumes the role next year for a three-year contract, though Auckland audiences will be able to enjoy two scheduled concerts with Maestro Bellincampi as guest conductor in October this year.

“We are absolutely delighted to be making this announcement and very much looking forward to Giordano’s input and vision for the orchestra,” says APO Chief Executive Barbara Glaser. “Giordano has worked with the APO twice previously, striking a wonderful rapport with our audiences and musicians on both occasions, and his proven experience as a Music Director in Europe is a valuable asset to us.”

The appointment follows a significant worldwide search for a new Music Director to replace outgoing Music Director Eckehard Stier, who was appointed to the role in 2008. “We have been looking for someone who would be able to build on the extraordinary growth Eckehard has achieved in the past seven years. Giordano has the passion and expertise to do this and shape the next artistic evolution of the orchestra,” Ms Glaser says.

“At this time I would also like to acknowledge and thank Eckehard for the wonderful experience we have had with him at the helm, as a musician, a colleague, and as someone committed to Auckland and the APO,” Ms Glaser says. “Eckehard had ambitious goals to lift the quality of the orchestra, and he has more than achieved that; we remain indebted to him and look forward to having him back on the podium as a guest conductor.”

Maestro Bellincampi says he is very pleased to be taking this role to continue building on his association with the APO. “I have great respect for the APO,” Maestro Bellincampi says. “During my visits as a guest conductor I have noticed that from the very first moment there was a mutual respect and understanding of what we wanted to achieve together, and I felt very reassured but also positively challenged,” he says. “The programming that the APO has in its season is always very intriguing and adventurous, and the audiences are fantastic, curious, and seem very focused on what is happening on the podium.”

Maestro Bellincampi (b.1965) is currently the General Music Director of the Duisburg Philharmonic and Chief Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He was born in Italy and moved to Copenhagen at a young age, beginning a career as a trombonist with the Royal Danish Orchestra before making his professional conducting debut in 1994.

Previously, he was the Principal Conductor of I Pomeriggi Musicali, Milan from 2012 - 2014, General Music Director of the Danish National Opera from 2005 - 2013, Music Director of the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 - 2006 and, between 1997 - 2000, he was also Chief Conductor of the Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, the leading avant-garde ensemble in Denmark.

“We have no doubt that Giordano will draw on his diverse musical background to bring new strengths to our orchestra,” Ms Glaser says. “He has clearly bonded with the APO, and Auckland’s greater arts and cultural scene is richer for his appointment.”

ENDS

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