Pablo Heras-Casado Named Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke's

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) announced today the four-year appointment of Pablo Heras-Casado as Principal Conductor, effective immediately. At 34 years old Heras-Casado has already made a remarkable impact on the international conducting stage. His unique talents will help to shape OSL's artistic course during a period of tremendous growth for the institution. This is Heras-Casado's first titled appointment with a major international orchestra.

Maestro Heras-Casado, who hails from Granada, Spain, made his debut with OSL in the summer of 2011 at Caramoor International Music Festival, where the orchestra was founded in 1979. His first performance as OSL's Principal Conductor will also be at Caramoor in July 2012. Heras-Casado is OSL's fourth titled conductor, joining company with Roger Norrington (1990-1994), Charles Mackerras (1998-2001) and Donald Runnicles (2001-2007).

A consummate musician who has won praise for his energy and expertise across a broad range of musical styles, Heras-Casado has performed with many of the world's finest orchestras, such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, Freiburger Barockorchester and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has developed relationships with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Mostly Mozart Festival. His opera collaborations include Teatro Real Madrid, La Monnaie in Brussels, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Canadian Opera Company and Opéra National de Bordeaux. Next summer, he will conduct at both the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals.

Now in its 37th year, OSL is currently experiencing a period of expansion begun by its Co-Founder and President Emeritus Marianne Lockwood, which continues under the leadership of its second President and Executive Director Katy Clark. In March 2011 the orchestra moved into its first permanent home for rehearsal and recording-The DiMenna Center for Classical Music-which boasts state-of-the art acoustics and amenities for OSL's musicians and for many other musicians in New York City. OSL performs approximately 70 concerts each year, including regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Morgan Library & Museum, Brooklyn Museum and its summer home, Caramoor International Music Festival.

"As we look towards a new era of creative growth, we are thrilled to have Pablo Heras-Casado as our Principal Conductor," said Katy Clark. "Our musicians have a reputation for passionate music making as well as great versatility, and these are qualities they share with this astonishing conductor. Pablo's fresh, artistic vision will be a great asset as we plan for the future."

"The spirit of this orchestra is deeply inspiring, and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work together on a regular basis," said Pablo Heras-Casado. "I am excited to explore all the possibilities presented by St. Luke's beautiful new home, and I look forward to becoming better acquainted with audiences in New York City through my work with this esteemed orchestra."

"Pablo Heras-Casado represents the best of a new generation of conductors: he is knowledgeable, omnivorous, collaborative and charismatic," said OSL Board Chairman Norman Benzaquen. "His involvement will further raise the profile of our wonderful orchestra."

Heras-Casado will serve as OSL's Principal Conductor from 2011 through 2015. He will lead OSL each year at Carnegie Hall and Caramoor International Music Festival. He will also help to select programs and soloists and will work closely with OSL to develop special projects such as tours, recordings and commissions.

About Orchestra of St. Luke's

Now in its 37th year, Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is one of America's foremost and most versatile ensembles. OSL was formed at Caramoor International Music Festival in the summer of 1979, after evolving from St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, which was established at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York's Greenwich Village in 1974. Dedicated to engaging audiences throughout New York City and beyond, OSL performs approximately 70 orchestral, chamber and educational concerts each year-including an annual orchestra series at Carnegie Hall, an annual chamber music series at The Morgan Library & Museum and Brooklyn Museum, a new series of free programs at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music entitled OSL@DMC and summer concerts as Orchestra-in-Residence at the Caramoor International Music Festival. OSL collaborates regularly with the world's great artists, such as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Anna Netrebko, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mark Morris Dance Group, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Elton John and many more.

Committed to community-building, OSL produces free concerts in each of the five boroughs through its annual Subway Series and has engaged more than one million children in its arts education programs. OSL's stellar 70+ discography includes four acclaimed releases on its own label, St. Luke's Collection, and four Grammy Award-winning recordings. For OSL's calendar of events, tickets and more information, visit OSLmusic.org.

About The DiMenna Center for Classical Music

The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, located at 450 West 37th Street, is OSL's first permanent home and New York City's first space dedicated to classical music rehearsal, recording and education. The DiMenna Center offers local and touring musicians unprecedented access to high-quality rehearsal and recording space in midtown Manhattan. The center has already hosted thousands of musicians, including Iván Fischer, Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Susan Graham, Christian Tetzlaff, Pablo Heras-Casado, Sarah Chang, Matthias Pintscher, Joyce Yang, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, The Knights, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, American Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Musica Sacra, American Brass Quintet and more. The center also serves as the venue for OSL's new free concert series OSL@DMC, which connects the public to the artistic process of composers and musicians. The 20,000+ square foot facility was designed by H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture and acousticians Akustiks. The DiMenna Center's building is also home to Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC). For more information, visit DiMennaCenter.org.

About Pablo Heras-Casado

Pablo Heras-Casado enjoys a multi-faceted conducting career of unusual breadth and variety, from early music to cutting-edge contemporary scores, intimate chamber programs and grand opera.

His 2011/12 season features debuts with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the NDR Sinfonieorchester; as well as the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony and Mariinsky Orchestra and Theatre. In the US he returns to the San Francisco, Cincinnati and Houston Symphony orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke's. Further highlights include a production of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride for the Canadian Opera Company, a debut appearance at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and a tour with the Freiburger Barockorchester in March 2012.

Future plans include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, a debut at the Salzburger Festspiele (with Klangforum Wien) and concerts with the Lucerne Festival Academy 2012.

Last season, 2010/11, his operatic projects included Mahagonny with Teatro Real Madrid and La Fura dels Baus, and Nixon in China with Canadian Opera Company. For the latter he was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award by The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts for his "Outstanding Musical Direction." In May 2011 he conducted acclaimed world premiere performances of Hosokawa's Matsukaze at La Monnaie in association with Sasha Waltz & Guests and Vocalconsort Berlin. The production also travelled to Warsaw, Luxembourg and to the Staatsoper Berlin.

During 2010/11 also Pablo returned to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, BBC Philharmonic and NHK Symphony orchestras, as well as the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Pablo has appeared, too, with the Boston and Chicago Symphony orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Netherlands Radio Kammerphilharmonie. In opera, Pablo has conducted productions including The Elixir of Love for English National Opera, Rigoletto for Welsh National Opera, the world premiere of Marc-Olivier Dupin´s ballet Les enfants du paradis for Opéra National de Paris, a new production of Offenbach´s La Périchole, as well as Le Nozze de Figaro, with Opéra National de Bordeaux.

A champion of contemporary music, Pablo has worked with Ensemble ACJW at Carnegie Hall, Klangforum Wien and Collegium Novum Zürich. His performance of repertoire including Stockhausen's Gruppen resulted in him winning the 2007 Lucerne Festival Conductors' Competition. The award was voted unanimously by a jury including Pierre Boulez and Peter Eötvös

Conducting his period-instrument chamber opera company, La Compañía Teatro del Príncipe in Aranjuez, Pablo has released world premiere recordings of Castel's La Fontana del Placer and Boccherini's La Clementina for Harmonia Mundi – while his recording with La Compañía of Giuseppe Bonno's L'isola disabitata is due for release soon. A DVD of Schubert's Symphony No. 8 with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for Naïve was released in summer 2011. Next year sees him embark on a significant recording collaboration with Harmonia Mundi.