Gil Rose
Gil Rose is recognized as an important conductor helping to shape the future of classical music. Critics all over the world have praised his dynamic performances and many recordings. In 1996 he founded the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the foremost professional orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing and recording music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Under his leadership, BMOP’s unique programming and high performance standards have attracted critical acclaim; the orchestra has earned eleven ASCAP awards for adventurous programming and is a two-time recipient of the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music. In 2007 Mr. Rose was awarded Columbia University’s prestigious Ditson Award as well as an ASCAP Concert Music award for his exemplary commitment to new American music. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010 for his direction of Derek Bermel’s Voices, and received two nominations in 2011 for his direction of Steven Mackey’s Dreamhouse.
Mr. Rose also serves as Artistic Director of Opera Boston, a dynamic opera company in residence at the historic Cutler Majestic Theatre. During his tenure, Opera Boston has become recognized as one of the most important and innovative companies in America. He has curated the Fromm concerts at Harvard University and served as the Artistic Director of the Ditson Festival of Contemporary Music at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.
As a guest conductor, Mr. Rose made his Tanglewood debut in 2002 and in 2003 he debuted with the Netherlands Radio Symphony as part of the Holland Festival. He has led the American Composers Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the National Orchestra of Porto, as well as the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.
From 2003-2006, he served as Artistic Director of the contemporary opera festival Opera Unlimited, during which time he led the world premiere of Elena Ruehr’s Toussaint Before the Spirits, the New England premiere of Thomas Adès’s Powder Her Face, as well as the revival of John Harbison’s Full Moon in March with “skilled and committed direction” according to The Boston Globe. In 2006 Opera Unlimited presented the North American premiere of Peter Eötvös’s Angels in America to critical acclaim.
Recognized for his interpretation of standard operatic repertoire, Mr. Rose has been called “a Mozart conductor of energy and refinement” by The Boston Phoenix. His production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller was praised as “the best Verdi production presented in Boston in the last 15 years” by The Boston Globe, and his recording of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa for Naxos has been considered an important achievement by the international press. Mr. Rose has led new productions of Rossini’s Tancredi with Eva Podles and Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein starring Stephanie Blyth. Of the Boston premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar with Dawn Upshaw, Opera News raves, “Gil Rose and his musicians brought their usual excellence to the evening, creating fire and a stunning evocation.” In the 2010-2011 season, Mr. Rose led the world premiere (at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco) of Death and the Powers, a new opera by Tod Machover integrating performance technologies developed by the MIT Media Lab, in collaboration with the American Repertory Theater. Upcoming performances will include the North American premiere in Boston with the American Repertory Theater and the Midwest premiere at the Chicago Opera Theater. Mr. Rose will also be leading the New England premieres of Hindemith’s Cardillac and Donizetti's Maria Padilla in a performance starring Barbara Quintiliani.
Gil Rose’s extensive discography includes world premiere recordings of music by Louis Andriessen, Arthur Berger, Derek Bermel, Lisa Bielawa, William Bolcom, Eric Chasalow, Shih-Hui Chen, Robert Erickson, Lukas Foss, Charles Fussell, Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, David Lang, Tod Machover, Steven Mackey, William Thomas McKinley, Stephen Paulus, David Rakowski, Bernard Rands, George Rochberg, Elena Ruehr, Eric Sawyer, Gunther Schuller, Elliott Schwartz, Ken Ueno, Reza Vali, and Evan Ziporyn on such labels as Albany, Arsis, Cantaloupe, Chandos, ECM, Innova, Naxos, New World, and BMOP/sound, the five-time Grammy Award-nominated label for which he serves as Executive Producer. His recordings have appeared on the year-end “Best of” lists of The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, American Record Guide, NPR, and Downbeat Magazine.
