Marin Alsop American conductor and violinist Date of Birth: 16.10.1956 Country: USA

Biography of Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She currently holds the position of Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, Alsop is set to replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as the principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra in Brazil.

Born on October 16, 1956, in New York City, Alsop comes from a family of professional musicians. She studied at Yale University before transferring to the Juilliard School, where she earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in violin performance.

In 1981, Alsop founded the string ensemble called "String Fever". She received the Sergei Koussevitzky Prize for Outstanding Student Conductor at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1989.

Alsop has been the Music Director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California, since 1992. This festival specializes in the performance of contemporary orchestral music. She was also the Principal Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2005.

Currently, Alsop is considered one of the most prominent conductors of our time. She has also served as the Music Director of the Eugene Symphony in Eugene, Oregon, and as the Assistant Conductor of the Richmond Symphony in Richmond, Virginia, from 1988 to 1990.

On September 20, 2005, Alsop became the first conductor ever to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. In September 2007, she was appointed as the 12th Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Her selection was notable as she became the first woman to hold such a position in a major American orchestra. Despite initial resistance from some members of the orchestra, a meeting between Alsop and the musicians resolved any differences.

In June 2009, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced the extension of her contract for an additional five years, until August 2015. Since assuming her role as Music Director, Alsop has introduced several initiatives, including the educational program "OrchKids" which provides free music education to underprivileged children in Baltimore.

Alsop was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. In the UK, she has served as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia. From 2002 to 2008, she was the Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

She is known for her passion for American music and her interpretations of classical symphonic repertoire. Alsop was the first woman to record the complete cycle of Brahms symphonies and the first woman conductor to record a Mahler symphony with a major orchestra, specifically the Fifth Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Since 1990, Alsop has been in a domestic partnership with horn player Kristin Jurkscheit, with whom she raises a son. When Alsop was the conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, where Jurkscheit was a member, their relationship raised some questions. However, Alsop has always emphasized that their relationship began before she became the conductor, and that she is professional enough to ensure that personal matters do not affect her work.