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HIROKAMI Junichi

Conductor, Violin Section

Born in Tokyo, Junichi Hirokami studied piano, composition and music under Atsutada Otaka. Then studied conducting and graduated at Tokyo College of Music. Winner at the first Kondrashin International Conducting Competition in Amsterdam at the age of 26 in 1984.

Since 1990, Junichi Hirokami has appeared as guest conductor with major orchestras throughout the world including the Orchestre National de France, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Wiener Symphoniker. Apart from guest appearance he had served as Chief Conductor of Sweden’s Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Principal Conductor of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, he has been a guest conductor of orchestras which include the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In Japan he has conducted all the major orchestras including NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. He also received great acclaim for his appearance with the Mito Chamber Orchestra.

He is prolific in opera as well, having led celebrated performances of “Un ballo in maschera” and “Rigoletto” at the Sydney Opera House, and his most recent triumphs include “La Traviata” at the Fujiwara Opera, “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “Ainadamar” at the Nissay Theatre, and “La Traviata” and “Aida” at the New National Theatre.

From 2008 to 2022 Hirokami has achieved a golden era in Kyoto as Chief Conductor as well as Music and Artistic Advisor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra for 14 years. In 2015 he received 46th prestigious Suntory Music Award with Kyoto Symphony Orchestra together. Currently he serves as Artistic Leader at Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Friend of JPO / Artistic Advisor at Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Friendship Conductor at Sapporo Symphony Orchestra and Junichi Hirokami at City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.

He serves as professor of conducting division at Tokyo College of Music.

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