Widely esteemed as one of America’s finest conductors, James DePreist is currently Director Emeritus of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Julliard School and former Music Director of the Oregon Symphony, where he served as Music Director from 1980 to 2003. His tenure marked a turning point in the symphony’s history, as Mr. DePreist helped transform what had long been a regional orchestra into a major, internationally acclaimed ensemble. Over the past three decades he has served as Music Director of L'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Sweden's Malmö Symphony, and L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and, from 2005 to 2008, Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
As a guest conductor he has appeared with virtually every major North American orchestra, and abroad he has conducted in Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Manchester, Melbourne, Munich, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Seoul, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Vienna. He made his London debut with the London Symphony at the Barbican in April 2005 ... read full bio
Widely esteemed as one of America’s finest conductors, James DePreist is currently Director Emeritus of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Julliard School and former Music Director of the Oregon Symphony, where he served as Music Director from 1980 to 2003. His tenure marked a turning point in the symphony’s history, as Mr. DePreist helped transform what had long been a regional orchestra into a major, internationally acclaimed ensemble. Over the past three decades he has served as Music Director of L'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Sweden's Malmö Symphony, and L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and, from 2005 to 2008, Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
As a guest conductor he has appeared with virtually every major North American orchestra, and abroad he has conducted in Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Manchester, Melbourne, Munich, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Seoul, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Vienna. He made his London debut with the London Symphony at the Barbican in April 2005.
James DePreist has appeared regularly at the Aspen Music Festival, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall with the Juilliard orchestras and has led the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Music Center on a number of occasions.
With more than 50 recordings to his credit, James DePreist has a substantial presence in the recording arena. His wide-ranging discography includes a celebrated Shostakovich series with the Helsinki Philharmonic and 15 recordings with the Oregon Symphony that established the orchestra as one of America's finest.
Born in Philadelphia in 1936, he studied composition with Vincent Persichetti at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1962, while on a State Department tour in Bangkok, he contracted polio but recovered sufficiently to win a first prize in the Dimitri Mitropoulous International Conducting Competition. He was selected by Leonard Bernstein to be an assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic for the 1965-66 season. DePreist made his highly acclaimed European debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in 1969. In 1971 Antal Dorati chose him to become his Associate Conductor with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C.
James DePreist has been awarded 13 honorary doctorates and is the author of two books of poetry. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and is a recipient of the Insignia of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland, the Medal of the City of Québec and is an Officer of the Order of Cultural Merit of Monaco. In 2005 the President of the United States presented James DePreist with the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence. He is the nephew of the legendary contralto Marian Anderson.
Last updated October 2011. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
