Bundit Ungrangsee ( th, บัณฑิต อึ้งรังษี; , born December 7, 1970) is a Thai symphonic conductor. Thai-born and of Chinese descent, Bundit Ungrangsee was named one of two co-winners and Laureates of the inaugural Maazel-Vilar International Conductors' Competition held at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built b ...

in New York City in September 2002. Since then, Ungrangsee has built a career as an international guest conductor, regularly leading orchestras in primarily Europe and Asia. His work includes Principal Guest Conductor of the

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1948, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...

and regularly conducting orchestras in Italy, including Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia. Over the course of his career, he has held posts as music director of the Young Musician's Foundation Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles, Associate Conductor of the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

, Cover Conductor for the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, Associate Conductor of the

Charleston Symphony Orchestra The Charleston Symphony Orchestra aka CSO, is an American orchestra based in Charleston, South Carolina and performs Masterworks and Pops series, Youth Orchestra concerts and more, at the Gaillard Center and dozens of other venues across the Lowco ...

and Principal Guest Conductor of the

. Bundit was among the honorees for the Thai Ministry of Culture's Office of Contemporary Art and Culture's Silpathorn Award in 2005. He was also named a "Cultural Ambassador". Among the artists with whom he has worked are

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, ...

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1943) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York (Manhattan) to parents of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. (Her stepfather was of Greek d ...

Joseph Alessi Joseph Norman Alessi (born September 20, 1959) is an American classical trombonist with the New York Philharmonic. Life Joseph Norman Alessi was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended high school in San Rafael, California. His father, also nam ...

, the LaBeque Sisters,

Paula Robison Paula Robison (born June 8, 1941) is a flute soloist and teacher. Early life and education Paula Robison was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of David V. and Naomi Robison, an actor. David Robison was a playwright and writer for film a ...

, Christopher Parkening,

Christine Brewer Christine Brewer (born October 26, 1955) is an American soprano opera singer. Biography Brewer grew up in the Mississippi River town of Grand Tower, Illinois. She attended McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and concentrated on music educa ...

and

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

. In 2005, Ungrangsee was one of three international conductors invited to actively take part in the historic development of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra into a world-class musical institution. He was also given the post of Principal Guest Conductor of that orchestra and conducted numerous concerts with the orchestra. In June 2007, he invited the orchestra to give a concert tour in his home country, Thailand. In September 2002 Ungrangsee was named Laureate and Co-Winner in the inaugural Maazel-Vilar International Conductors' Competition held at

in New York City. The prize, awarded by a distinguished panel of judges including

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

Kyung-Wha Chung Kyung Wha Chung (born 26 March 1948) is a South Korean violinist. Early years and education Kyung Wha Chung was born in Seoul as the middle of the seven children in her family. Her father was an exporter, and her mother ran a restaurant. She b ...

, Glenn Dicterow and

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', '' ...

, recognizes him as first among the 362 competitors from 40 countries in the competition. At the conclusion of the competition, Maazel told the audience, "You are seeing the future of classical music." A Thai conductor of Chinese descent, Mr. Ungrangsee is the first Thai to have won awards in many prestigious international conducting competitions. Other competition prizes include Winner of the International Competition for Young conductors in Lisbon, Portugal (1999). In 2002, he placed fourth among 37 conductors from over 20 nations in the Hungarian TV-Radio International Conducting Competition in Budapest. He also was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Besançon Competition in France in 1998. Among the teachers he recognizes as his main influences are world-renowned conducting teacher

Jorma Panula Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä and Klaus ...

and Maestro Lorin Maazel, music director of New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Maazel said of Bundit that “He is on his way to becoming a major force in the world of conducting,” and privately trained him over a period of three years. Bundit received his master's degree in Conducting from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Personal life

Bundit converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2000. He married Mary Jane Jones in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2001. They have four daughters.Following the music: Bundit Ungrangsee finds his place as a world-respected symphony conductor
''Deseret News'', September 2, 2005

References

External links

www.Bundit.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungrangsee, Bundit Bundit Ungrangsee Bundit Ungrangsee 1970 births Living people Bundit Ungrangsee Bundit Ungrangsee Converts to Mormonism Bundit Ungrangsee University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni 21st-century conductors (music)