Local students pause for a snapshot at a Brooklyn Philharmonic showcase event.
(Brooklyn, New York) — Michael
Christie was named Music Director of the
Brooklyn Philharmonic by the Philharmonic’s Board of Directors late yesterday.
Currently serving as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony and Music Director
of the Colorado Music Festival, Christie signed a three-year contract with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
to begin September 2005. The position of Music Director was previously held by Robert Spano.
Christie is slated to conduct three of the four Brooklyn Philharmonic mainstage concerts this season
in February and April 2006.
Chairman of the Board J. Barclay Collins II and the Music Director Search Committee, comprised of BP Board members, musicians and administrative staff, hailed Christie’s vitality on the podium, creativity in programming and audience engagement. Collins remarked, "The Brooklyn Philharmonic, an organization at the cultural center of Brooklyn’s renowned economic and community growth, has found in Michael Christie a new Music Director as exciting and engaging as the great borough of Brooklyn itself."
Catherine M. Cahill, Brooklyn Philharmonic Chief Executive Officer, noted that Christie joins the BP during a time of growth and opportunity. "We are a dynamic, major cultural force in New York City and an organization that has long been respected for musical leadership and adventuresome programming. Our past Music Directors Robert Spano, Dennis Russell Davies and Lukas Foss generated an unparalleled musical legacy in Brooklyn, and we are confident that our momentum will continue to grow under the leadership of Michael Christie."
Michael Christie made his Brooklyn Philharmonic debut in April 2005 with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Dooryard Bloom, and was commended by The New York Times for leading a "shapely, persuasive performance." The conductor launches his first season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony in September 2005 and has been Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival since September 2000, where he earned praise for innovative programming and all–time attendance highs. Christie was the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Australia from 2001–2004 and continues his relationship with the orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor. Additionally, he served as the Assistant Conductor of the Opernhaus Zurich in the 1997/1998 season, a position created for him by Franz Welser–Möst.
Michael Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize for Outstanding Potential at the First International Sibelius Conductor’s Competition in Helsinki. Following the competition, Mr. Christie was invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim, both in Chicago and at the Berlin State Opera. He graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance.
For media inquiries please contact James Clark, Manager of Promotions at the Brooklyn Philharmonic at (718) 488–5757, or Kirshbaum Demler & Associates at (212) 222–4843.