Stilian Kirov

Stilian Kirov
Born	(1984-01-24) January 24, 1984 (age 41) Sofia, Bulgaria
Education	Juilliard School École Normale de Musique de Paris
Occupation	Orchestra conductor

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]

Education

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

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

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

1. 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. 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.

External links

• Official website
• Schmidt Artists agency biography
• Verho Group agency biography
• "It's Beethoven and beyond for new BSO season" by Susan Scaffidi, The Californian, October 2, 2019
• "Kirov, Illinois Philharmonic wrap season with sumptuous Strauss" by Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review, May 19, 2019
• "Conductor Stilian Kirov commits to another year with BSO" by Susan Scaffidi, The Californian, February 9, 2018
• "At home with ... Stilian Kirov" by Shannon Eblen, Courier Post, October 20, 2016
• "Meet Symphony in C's rising star" by John Scanlon, Courier Post, June 11, 2015