Jean-Marie Zeitouni

Artistic director

Jean-Marie Zeitouni has emerged as one of Canada’s brightest young conductors. His eloquent yet fiery style, in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, results in regular re-engagements across North America. He studied with Maestro Raffi Armenian and graduated from the Montréal Conservatory in conducting, percussion, and theory. In addition to his new responsibilities as Artistic Director of Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, Mr. Zeitouni is Music Director of the Columbus Symphony in Ohio. He also is Principal Guest Conductor of Les Violons du Roy, an ensemble with which he gave more than 200 concerts throughout North America over the last 10 years. Jean-Marie Zeitouni has been music director of the Banff Centre “Opera as Theatre” program, associate conductor and chorus master at Opéra de Montréal as well as music director of its Young Artist Program (Atelier lyrique). He was also music director of the Banff Centre “Opera as Theatre” program, chorus master at Opéra de Québec, choir director of the Québec Symphony Orchestra and director of the orchestra and opera workshop of the Faculty of Music at Laval University. Regularly invited by opera companies, he has conducted operas at Opéra de Montréal and Opéra de Québec, as well as in Banff, Calgary, Edmonton, Cincinnati, Saint-Louis and the Glimmerglass Opera. The Canadian orchestras Jean-Marie Zeitouni has conducted include the symphony orchestras of Montréal, Québec, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, the National Arts Centre, Arion and Club musical de Québec. Outside of Canada, he has conducted symphony orchestras in Oregon, Monterey, San Antonio, Houston, Omaha, Honolulu, Huntsville and Cincinnati, in addition to the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, the Philharmonique de Marseille, the Xalapa Symphony and the National Symphony of Mexico. He also regularly takes part in Festival international de Lanaudière, Festival international du Domaine Forget, Round Top (Texas), Grant Park (Illinois), Elora, Parry Sound and Mostly Mozart festivals.
 During the 2011-2012 season, Jean-Marie Zeitouni will make his debuts with the Seattle Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony, and he will conduct new concerts with symphony orchestras in Montréal, Québec, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver, the Calgary Philharmonic and the Handel and Haydn Society. He will also conduct operas at Opera Theatre of Saint-Louis, Calgary Opera and Festival de Lanaudière.