Stilian Kirov (born January 24, 1984) is a conductor and music director of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra,[1] Symphony in C (orchestra)[2] in New Jersey, and the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra in California.[3] He was previously associate conductor for the Seattle Symphony and Memphis Symphony.[4]

Stilian Kirov
Born (1984-01-24) January 24, 1984 (age 40)
Education
OccupationOrchestra conductor

Education

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Kirov was born on January 24, 1984, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Kirov is a graduate of the Juilliard School in orchestral conducting, where he was a student of James DePreist, and holds a master's degree in conducting from the École Normale de Musique de Paris.[1]

Engagements

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Engagement highlights for Kirov include guest performances with the symphonies of Chautauqua,[5] Kalamazoo,[6] South Bend,[7] and West Virginia,[8] among others. He also appeared regularly as guest conductor with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle.[9]

Worldwide, he has appeared with the Minas Gerais Philharmonic, Leopolis Chamber Orchestra/Ukraine, Orchestra of Colors/Athens, Orchestre Colonne/Paris, Sofia Philharmonic,[10] State Hermitage Orchestra/St. Petersburg, Thüringen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Musical Olympus International Festival in St. Petersburg, and the Victoria Symphony/British Columbia.

During the 2013-14 season, Kirov was engaged as an assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[4] He was also engaged as a cover conductor for Stéphane Denève, the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Christoph von Dohnáyi.[11]

In 2017, Kirov was appointed Music Director for the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.[12]

Awards

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Kirov was awarded the 2018 Career Assistance Award of the Solti Foundation U.S. It is the third time he has received the award of the foundation.[13][14] In addition, he was awarded first prize in the 2017 "Debut Berlin" Concert Competition.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Johnson, Lawrence. "Illinois Philharmonic names Kirov as music director". Chicago Classical Review. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  2. ^ Lewis, Susan. "Meet Stilian Kirov: The New Music Director of Symphony in C". WRTI.org. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  3. ^ Moore, Joe. "Bakersfield Symphony Announces New Conductor: Stilian Kirov". kvpr.org. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b von Rhein, John. "Illinois Philharmonic's new maestro seeks to 'change people's lives' through music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ Kelly, Justin. "The Building Blocks of Music: CSO, led by Stilian Kirov, moves to Beethoven's middle period in Beethoven Festival concert". The Chautauquan Daily. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  6. ^ Lieurance, Cara. "KSO Conductor-Candidate Stilian Kirov To Conduct All-Bernstein Concert". WMUK. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  7. ^ Gray, Amanda. "Five candidates in the running to lead South Bend Symphony Orchestra". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  8. ^ Lynch, Bill. "WVSO announces new season, conductor finalists". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  9. ^ Hughes, Andrew S. "Stilian Kirov next up to audition for South Bend Symphony Orchestra's music director position". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  10. ^ Bezovska, Albena. "Stilian Kirov: "It is a never-ending search and that is the beauty of our profession"". Radio Bulgaria. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  11. ^ Lewis, Susan. "Meet Stilian Kirov: The New Music Director of Symphony in C". WRTI.org. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  12. ^ "About the Illinois Philharmonic | Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra". Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  13. ^ "Solti Foundation Announces Conductor Career Assistance Award Recipients". The Violin Channel. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  14. ^ "The Solti Foundation U.S. Announces Career Assistance Awards To 8 American Conductors". Broadway World. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  15. ^ Virtusio, Jessi. "New director, venue for Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra's 2017-18 season". Daily Southtown. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
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