New Chief Chief Conductor for Netherlands' Phion Orchestra

Principal Oboist for the Concertgebouw, Alexei Ogrintchouk will prepare four programs per year for the Phion Orchestra

The Russian oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk, who has been the principal oboe of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2005, has recently been named as the new Chief Conductor of Phion, the orchestra of the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel.

Ogrintchouk succeeds Otto Tausk, who has led the orchestra since its inception in 2020. He will step into the role at the opening of the 2023/24 season for an initial term of three years and will lead four concert projects per season.

Born in Moscow, Ogrintchouk studied at the Gnessin School of Music, making his solo debuts on the oboe in Russia, Europe, and Japan at the age of thirteen. By fifteen, he had been accepted into the Paris Conservatory, where he won a number of prizes, and studied with Maurice Bourgue, Jacques Tys, and Jean-Louis Capezzali.

A position as principal oboe of the Rotterdam Philharmonic followed in 1999, and Ogrintchouk took up his current position in the Concertgebouw in 2005, aged just 25.

Ogrintchouk has made conducting appearances with the Mariinsky Orchestra, the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, among many others.

"It is with an intense sense of happiness and pride that we welcome Alexei as our new chief conductor," said Joris Nassenstein, the artistic manager of Phion. "Alexei is a brilliant, internationally respected musician and has been connected to the Dutch music culture for decades."

"Alexei has been a regular guest conductor with us in recent years and the chemistry between him and our orchestra was palpable for everyone," Nassenstein added. "I am very much looking forward to our cooperation."

"I am honored and very excited to take on this new role," Ogrintchouk said. "I am deeply moved and thankful for the trust and am very much looking forward to this musical journey with Phion."

"This group of musicians continue to search for the highest possible musically and I am extremely motivated to bring out the best in our collaboration. We have some fantastic venues in Gelderland and Overijssel, and I am excited to connect and communicate our passion with a large and diverse public."

You can hear Ogrintchouk conducting Sinfonietta Rīga in a performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 104 below.