On December 1, 2011 the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec appointed Fabien Gabel as its Music Director for an initial four-year term beginning in September 2012.  He will conduct twelve programs each season from 2013-2014 onwards and lead the orchestra on international tours.

Mr. Gabel first attracted international attention in 2004 when he won the prestigious Donatella Flick conducting competition in London, which gave him the opportunity to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra and subsequently led to his appointment as the orchestra’s assistant conductor for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. Since then, the LSO has engaged him regularly, and he has emerged as a leading conductor of his generation.
                                     
Mr. Gabel has forged an especially strong relationship with the Orchestre National de France, making his professional conducting debut there in 2003 and then appearing regularly thereafter.  He has also appeared with the ONF on television with soprano Natalie Dessay, and recorded an award-winning disc for the Naïve label with mezzo-soprano Marie-Nicole Lemieux. ... read full bio

On December 1, 2011 the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec appointed Fabien Gabel as its Music Director for an initial four-year term beginning in September 2012.  He will conduct twelve programs each season from 2013-2014 onwards and lead the orchestra on international tours.

Mr. Gabel first attracted international attention in 2004 when he won the prestigious Donatella Flick conducting competition in London, which gave him the opportunity to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra and subsequently led to his appointment as the orchestra’s assistant conductor for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. Since then, the LSO has engaged him regularly, and he has emerged as a leading conductor of his generation.
                                     
Mr. Gabel has forged an especially strong relationship with the Orchestre National de France, making his professional conducting debut there in 2003 and then appearing regularly thereafter.  He has also appeared with the ONF on television with soprano Natalie Dessay, and recorded an award-winning disc for the Naïve label with mezzo-soprano Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

Recent and past engagements include the London Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (both of which he conducts regularly), the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (in London and France), the Hamburger Symphoniker, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Lausanne Chamber and the Orchestra of the Teatro Reggio di Torino, among many others.

Earlier this season, Mr. Gabel made a successful debut with the BBC Symphony and was quickly re-engaged for two more appearances.  Other highlights this season and beyond include debuts with the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Royal Scottish National Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Bournemouth Symphony and re-engagements with the London philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to Ms. Dessay and Ms. Lemieux, Mr. Gabel collaborates with a number of renowned soloists such as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Gidon Kremer, Rafal Blechacz, Bertrand Chamayou, François-René Duchable, Nikolai Schukoff, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Sergey Katchatryan and Paul Groves.  Future collaborations pair him with Gautier Capuçon and Fran-Peter Zimmermann, among others.

Born in Paris to a family of accomplished musicians, Mr. Gabel began studying trumpet at the age of six, honing his skills at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, which awarded him a First Prize in trumpet in 1996, and later at the Musik Hochschule of Karlsruhe. He went on to play in various Parisian orchestras under the direction of prominent conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle and Bernard Haitink. In 2002 Fabien Gabel pursued his interest in conducting at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, where he studied with David Zinman, who invited him appear as a guest conductor at the Festival in 2009. Other mentors include Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, and Paavo Jarvi.

Last updated December 2011. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.