is a Japanese

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

who, from 2003-2010, was Artistic Director of Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Also, after five years as Music Director of Japan’s Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, he assumed the title of Conductor Laureate.

Biography

Komatsu previously held the posts of Principal Conductor of

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2024, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

and Japan Shinsei Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of Takefu International Music Festival, Music Director of

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfrie ...

and Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Principal Guest Conductor of Lviv State Opera and Ballet, Associate Conductor of

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

, and Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor of

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...

. He has conducted orchestras, opera and ballet on four continents, including

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Foll ...

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revoluti ...

Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kiev National Philharmonic Orchestra, Kiev National Opera,

Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester The WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (German: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln) is a German radio orchestra based in Cologne, where the orchestra performs at two main concert halls: the WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz and the Kölner Philharmonie. History ...

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, 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 ...

, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra,

New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director w ...

, Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela. Chosei Komatsu has collaborated with numerous international solo artists, such as violinists

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

James Ehnes James Ehnes (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian- American concert violinist and violist. Early life Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey E ...

Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors, and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemp ...

, Cho-Liang Lin,

Midori Goto , who performs under the mononym Midori, is a Japanese-born American violinist. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year's Eve Gala in 1982. In 1986 her performance at the Tanglewood ...

Gil Shaham Gil Shaham (Hebrew: גיל שחם; born February 19, 1971) is an American violinist. His accolades include a Grammy Award in 1999, and he has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna P ...

; cellist Jian Wang; and pianists

Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most re ...

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

, Roger Wright,

Jeffrey Kahane Jeffrey Alan Kahane (born September 12, 1956) is an American classical concert pianist and conductor. He was music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for 20 years, the longest of any music director in the orchestra's history. He is ...

, Ikuyo Kamiya, Yu Kosuge, and Michie Koyama. In 2005, Chosei Komatsu led Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica on tour in Japan, in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between those two countries. As part of the Japanese government’s official cultural outreach program, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra was selected to tour China with Mtro. Komatsu in 2007. Among the many recordings to Mtro. Komatsu’s credit are two CDs with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, released in 2006 on the Sony Classical label. His 2004 recording of Akira Senju’s Piano Concerto "Shukumei", with Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Kentaro Haneda, remains the best-selling classical CD in the history of Japan. His gala concert with Tokyo Philharmonic, soprano

Stefania Bonfadelli Stefania Bonfadelli (born 1967) is an Italian operatic soprano. She began studying pianoforte at eight years of age and singing at fourteen in Verona, and later continued these studies in Paris and Vienna. Her operatic debut was with ''I puritani ...

and baritone

Renato Bruson Renato Bruson (born 13 January 1936) is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. Life and career Bruson was born in Granze near Padua on 13 Jan ...

was released on DVD in 2003. Mtro. Komatsu has also recorded for the Columbia, BMG-Victor, EMI and CBC labels, with the

, Canadian Chamber Ensemble, and

. A native of Japan, Chosei Komatsu earned a Bachelor of Literature degree in aesthetics from

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

in Rochester, New York. He was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellowship at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany and the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

Conducting Fellowship in the United States. His primary conducting teachers were

David Zinman David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired American conductor and violinist. Education After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. ...

, David Effron,

Donald Neuen Donald Neuen is an American choral conductor, composer, arranger, editor, and educator who was formerly the Distinguished Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Activities at the University of California, Los Angeles.UCLA Music Department, ' ...

, and Eiichi Ito, and he took further studies with

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, Max Rudolf, and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

. Chosei Komatsu currently lives in Hawaii, USA, and in Tokyo, Japan.

External links

Official Website

References

1958 births 20th-century Japanese conductors (music) 21st-century Japanese conductors (music) Japanese classical violinists Japanese male conductors (music) Living people Male classical violinists Musicians from Fukui Prefecture {{conductor-stub