Classical Circuit Podcast Episode 1 — Orchestre de Paris' Christian Thompson

Ella Lee's new classical music podcast, "Classical Circuit" is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We had a chance to talk to Ella about her inspiration behind creating this podcast in this exclusive interview.

The first episode features Christian Thompson, Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Paris. Having started his musical journey as a full-time chorister at Windsor Castle, his vast career has included roles as Head of Artistic Planning for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir and the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm; 'Délégué Artistique' at the Auditorium de Lyon; Director of the Verbier Festival Academy; and representing major artists as an agent in London.

In this episode, Christian discusses what "excellence" means to him, whether age matters in the context of artistic quality, and all the plates that require spinning to curate a major orchestra's concert season. He recounts what it was like to program journalistically during the early months of the pandemic, with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra continuing to play live while the world was silent.