Meet Our Music Director: Andrew Constantine
"The
poise and hushed beauty of the London Philharmonic's playing
was one of the most remarkable qualities of Constantine's
direction. He has an exceptional gift for holding players
and listeners on a thread of sound, drawing out the most
refined textures". Edward Greenfield, The London Times.
Andrew Constantine was appointed Music Director of the
Reading Symphony Orchestra in April 2007 following a two
year search involving nearly three hundred conductors.
Constantine served as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra for three years following an appointment
by Yuri Temirkanov in 2004. Temirkanov has described
Constantine as, “The real thing. A serious conductor!” The
legendary teacher Ilya Musin also called Constantine, "a
brilliant representative of the conducting art."
Born in England he studied firstly with John Carewe and
Norman Del Mar, then later with Ferdinand Leitner at the
Accademia Chigiana in Siena and Leonard Bernstein at the
Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. As a result of winning
first prize in the Donatella Flick/Accademia Italiana
Conducting Competition he furthered his studies at the
Leningrad Conservatory with Musin and worked as assistant to
the late Giuseppe Sinopoli.
This was soon followed by his London debut at the Royal
Festival Hall conducting the London Philharmonic. Critical
acclaim was unanimous.
Constantine works regularly with nearly all of the finest
British orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and the
Philharmonia Orchestra as well as having strong
relationships with a number of European and Scandinavian
orchestras including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
In the U.S.A. Andrew Constantine has developed a reputation
for imaginative and compelling programming as well as a
profound commitment to music education. In 2003 he was
awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Music by the
University of Leicester for his “contribution to music” and
was also awarded a highly prestigious British NESTA
Fellowship.
Please visit Andrew's website at: andrewconstantine.com
