Following a highly successful thirteen-year tenure as Music Director, Christopher Seaman has recently been named Conductor Laureate of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, where he maintains an annual presence. During his time in Rochester, Mr. Seaman was credited for broadening the orchestra’s audience base and, in particular, for his creation of the ASCAP award-winning lecture series “Symphony 101.” He has also served as Artistic Advisor of the San Antonio Symphony, Music Director of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, and prior to that as conductor-in-residence of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Sought-after as a guest conductor throughout the world, Mr. Seaman has appeared with orchestras in North America, Israel, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in his native Great Britain, where he has served as Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony and the Northern Sinfonia.
As a guest conductor in North America, Mr. Seaman’s recent and upcoming engagements include the symphony orchestras of Milwaukee, Vancouver, Seattle, Columbus, Omaha and Utah, as well returns to the Naples Philharmonic and the Aspen and Chautauqua Music festivals. He has also conducted the orchestras of Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati, Colorado, Detroit, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, and Toronto, among others ... read full bio
Following a highly successful thirteen-year tenure as Music Director, Christopher Seaman has recently been named Conductor Laureate of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, where he maintains an annual presence. During his time in Rochester, Mr. Seaman was credited for broadening the orchestra’s audience base and, in particular, for his creation of the ASCAP award-winning lecture series “Symphony 101.” He has also served as Artistic Advisor of the San Antonio Symphony, Music Director of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida, and prior to that as conductor-in-residence of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Sought-after as a guest conductor throughout the world, Mr. Seaman has appeared with orchestras in North America, Israel, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in his native Great Britain, where he has served as Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony and the Northern Sinfonia.
As a guest conductor in North America, Mr. Seaman’s recent and upcoming engagements include the symphony orchestras of Milwaukee, Vancouver, Seattle, Columbus, Omaha and Utah, as well returns to the Naples Philharmonic and the Aspen and Chautauqua Music festivals. He has also conducted the orchestras of Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati, Colorado, Detroit, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, and Toronto, among others.
Abroad, Mr. Seaman appears regularly with such orchestras as the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has returned regularly to Australia where he has conducted the Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras. In the United Kingdom, Mr. Seaman has worked with all of the London orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and the various BBC orchestras.
His recordings include performances with the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Britain. In 1990 he collaborated with Anne Akiko Meyers and the Royal Philharmonic for a recording of the Barber Violin Concerto and Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Most recently, Mr. Seaman has released an all-Vaughan Williams recording on Harmonia Mundi as well as an album of works by Tchaikovsky with pianist Olga Kern, and a recording of works by Rachmaninov with Jon Nakamatsu. All three of these recordings were performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and have received considerable critical acclaim.
Mr. Seaman makes a point of encouraging young talent and has held the post of Course Director of the Symphony Australia Conductor Development program for many years, devoting a number of weeks each season to teaching and directing training programs for young conductors. He has also had a long association with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In North America he has lead performances and master classes at the Aspen Music Festival and School and with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
After studying at King’s College, Cambridge, Mr. Seaman began his career as a member of the London Philharmonic. Within four years, he had moved in front of the podium as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony in Glasgow. He has since appeared exclusively as a conductor. In May 2009 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts by the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
Last updated September 2012. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
