Profile
Pascal VERROT
Conductor, Piano SectionChief Conductor of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
Born in 1959 in Lyon, France, Pascal Verrot studied at the Sorbonne and at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique where he was awarded a top prize for conducting.
He came to the notice of Seiji Ozawa during the Tokyo International Conducting Competition in 1985 in which he won a special prize, and became his assistant at the Boston Symphony orchestra from 1986 to 1990.
Since then, his career has progressed rapidly. From 1991 to 1997, he was musical director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, which has the longest history among Canadian orchestras. And he was chief conductor of the Shinsei Nihon Symphony Orchestra in Japan. In France, he was musical director of the Orchestre de Picardie, artistic director of the Thétre Impérial de Compiègne, and Musical Director of the Opéra de Dijon.
Pascal Verrot has also conducted numerous opera productions such as the Lyon Opera, the Paris Conservatoire, the Metz Opera, the Lille Opera, the Nantes Opera, the Nancy Opera, the Bordeaux Opera, the Maison de la Culture de l’Amiens, from Mozart- Gounod- Massenet- Tchaikovsky- Puccini- Prokofiev’s repertory. He has also conducted Gounod’s “Faust” for the Opening of the New Shanghai Opera Theatre. In Tokyo he has conducted “Le Nozze di Figaro”, “Don Giovanni”, “Cosi fan tutte” in 2004 and 2006.
He was awarded with the Claude Rostand prize, granted by the “Professional Union of critics” for Prokovief’s “L’amore delle tre melarance” performed at the Opéra de Dijon in May 2010. He has been principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has been chief conductor of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) from 2006 and attracting audience with his vigorous and sensitive conducting. In 2010 he conducted “Pelléas et Mélisande” (all acts, in concert style) by Debussy at the 250th SPO subscription concert. In March 2013 he performed with SPO in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg in Russia conducting “La mer” and “Nocturne” by Debussy, etc.
He recorded live with SPO “La mer” by Debussy, and “Symphony in D minor” by Franck (both released from Fontec) which are receiving high commendation.