Karel Mark Chichon

Karel Mark Chichon
Born 1971
London, UK
Education
Occupation Orchestral conductor
Years active 1992–present
Website www.karelmarkchichon.com

Karel Mark Chichon OBE (born 1971) is an orchestral conductor born in London to parents from Gibraltar. He is Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern and is a frequent guest conductor for major European orchestras. In 2012 he was awarded an OBE for services to music and culture in Gibraltar.

Life and career

Chichon was born in London in 1971 to parents from Gibraltar. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna under Leopold Hager and later served as assistant conductor to Giuseppe Sinopoli and Valery Gergiev. Since 2003 he has been a regular guest conductor with the English Chamber Orchestra and in 2004 he was invited by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to conduct concerts at their International Orchestra Institute in Salzburg and returned there in 2005 and 2006. In December 2010, he made his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam for a set of four subscription concerts, stepping in for Antonio Pappano at short notice.

He is Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern since September 2011 and has also been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (2009–12).[1] His previous positions include Chief Conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra (2006–09). He made his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon in 2010 conducting the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, providing backup to his featured wife Elīna Garanča on her CD "Habanera".

A co-founder and Artistic Director of the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society,[2] Chichon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to music and culture in Gibraltar.[3]

Personal life

Chichon is married to the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča.[4] Their first child, Catherine Louise, was born on 22 September 2011, and their second child, Christina Sophie, was born on 10 January 2014.[5]

Recordings

References

  1. ↑ Südwestrundfunk (13 March 2013). "Karel Mark Chichon hat seinen Vertrag als Chefdirigent der Deutschen Radio Philharmonie vorzeitig bis 2017 verlängert". Retrieved 4 March 2014 (German)
  2. ↑ Gibraltar Philharmonic Society. "Karel Mark Chichon - Conductor"
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60173. p. 23. 16 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Christiansen, Rupert (26 September 2012). "Elina Garanca: We mezzos get to have such fun". Daily Telegraph.
  5. ↑ Official website of Elina Garanca

Further sources

External links

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