Marko Letonja. TSO pic
Dr David Rich, Chair of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, today announced that Marko Letonja, TSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, has had his tenure extended for a further year, which means that he will remain at the helm of the orchestra until the end of 2018, when the orchestra will be celebrating its 70th anniversary.
“Since taking up the role of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director in 2012, Maestro Letonja has been brilliant, so we are delighted to have successfully negotiated the extension of his contract,” said Dr Rich.
“Marko has built on the already high standards of the TSO and taken them to an even higher level.
“This was evident, for example, in the performance last Saturday night of excerpts from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, a very challenging work that was performed magnificently across the entire orchestra and had the audience on its feet and applauding wildly at the end of the concert.
“Marko has also broadened the orchestra’s repertoire and helped us secure top-name guest artists such as the soloists we heard last Saturday, Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, who came to Tasmania directly from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. This was a coup for our orchestra and for our state.
“In addition to performance standards, Marko has helped the TSO reach new audiences and is passionate about the orchestra engaging with all sectors of the community.
“For these reasons and more, the TSO Board, management and musicians are delighted that Marko has extended his commitment to the TSO, despite his burgeoning orchestral and operatic career in Europe.”
The TSO will be broadening its reach still further when Marko Letonja leads the orchestra on its tour of China in late December-early January, a tremendous opportunity to showcase Tasmania in an important emerging market.
Marko Letonja will be conducting many and diverse concerts in 2017 including Beethoven’s exhilarating Symphony No 9, Stravinsky’s gripping The Rite of Spring, and a concert performance of Carmen, which will include the acclaimed Russian mezzo-soprano, Elena Maximova, in the title role.
Ciara Nicholls
