Eckart Preu (born 24 August 1969) is an East German-born

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. At the age of 10 he became a member, soloist and assistant conductor of the Boys Choir

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surrounding ...

In Germany he earned a master's degree in Conducting from the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar studying under Gunther Kahlert and

Nicolás Pasquet Nicolás Pasquet (born 1958) is a conductor from Uruguay and professor of conducting. Biography Born in 1958 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Pasquet studied violin and conducting at the National Music College. He later studied in Germany, violin at the S ...

. He also studied under Jean-Sebastien Bereau at the

Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Preu came to the United States as winner of the

National Conducting Competition of the German Academic Exchange Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland ...

(1996) for graduate studies with Harold Farberman at the

Hartt School of Music The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

. Preu is currently the Music Director of the

Portland Symphony Orchestra The Portland Symphony Orchestra was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their ...

in Portland, Maine. Preu is the former Music Director of the

Spokane Symphony The Spokane Symphony is a 70-piece professional orchestra based in Spokane, WA that performs more than 65 concerts per year for more than 150,000 listeners. It was originally incorporated in 1945 as the Spokane Philharmonic before being renam ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

having worked there from 2004-2019. He has also been music director of the Stamford Symphony in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2 ...

since 2005. In October 2016, he was named music director for the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. For three seasons he was Associate Conductor of the

Richmond Symphony The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musicians ...

. He also served as Resident Conductor with the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York City, New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is th ...

and the

American Russian Young Artists Orchestra The American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO), founded in 1987 as the American Soviet Youth Orchestra, was a philanthropic and diplomatic training orchestra for young musicians, vocalists and conductors from the United States and the former ...

. Former posts include Music Director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony and Principal Conductor of the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (NY). He was both Assistant and Guest Conductor at the Bard Music Festival. In Europe, Preu served as Music Director of L'Orchestre Internationale de Paris from 1993-95. Eckart Preu is also a frequent guest speaker for local businesses, community organizations and schools. He writes monthly articles for the local newspaper, the

Stamford Advocate ''The Advocate'' is a seven-day daily newspaper based in Stamford, Connecticut. The paper is owned and operated by Hearst Communications, a multinational corporate media conglomerate with $4 billion in revenues. ''The Advocate'' circulates in S ...

. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the Jerusalem Symphony, the Pecs Philharmonic (Hungary), and in Germany with the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Hallesche Philharmonie, the Thüringer Kammerorchester, and the Landessinfonieorchester Gotha. Eckart Preu performed at Carnegie Hall in May 1999 and January 2008, and at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris. His concerts have been aired by WPKT Stamford, KPBX Spokane, WCVE Richmond, and Jerusalem Radio. He has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists like

Richard Stoltzman Richard Leslie Stoltzman (born July 12, 1942) is an American clarinetist. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent his early years in San Francisco, California, and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Woodward High School in 1960. Today, Stoltzman is part ...

, Horacio Gutierrez, Vladimir Feltsman,

Jean-Philippe Collard Collard at the ''Flâneries musicales'', Reims (6 June 2014) Jean-Philippe Henri Collard (born 27 January 1948) is a French pianist known for his interpretations of the works of Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns. Career Collard was bor ...

Leila Josefowicz Leila Bronia Josefowicz ( ; born October 20, 1977) is an American-Canadian classical violinist. Biography Josefowicz was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to Los Angeles, California, where she sta ...

and

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang ( ko, 장영주; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. ...

References

External links

Eckart Preu's Official websiteSpokane SymphonyNew Amsterdam Symphony OrchestraStamford Symphony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preu 1969 births German male conductors (music) Living people Conservatoire de Paris alumni University of Hartford Hartt School alumni German emigrants to the United States People educated at the Kreuzschule 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians