Jean-Marie Zeitouni
Conductor
Jean-Marie Zeitouni is recognized as one of the most gifted conductors of his generation. His expressive and precise style makes him stand out in a repertoire ranging from baroque to music today. Appreciated as much in the symphonic repertoire as in the opera repertoire, he regularly conducts the most prestigious orchestras in Europe and America.
During the 2024-2025 season, Jean-Marie conducts Sigurd (Reyer) in Marseille, Carmen in Lausanne, Médée (Cherubini) in Montpellier, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony, the Orchestre National de Lille, Les Violons du Roy, and is at the podium of the Brussels Philharmonic for a disc dedicated to the French cello to be published in the Bru Zane collection.
He recently achieved great critical and public success by conducting Massenet’s Grisélidis during two concerts at the head of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier, in Montpellier and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris; a project which gave place for a discographic recording to be released soon.
He conducts the Orchestre National de Lille for the recording of a recital by soprano Vannina Santoni, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy at the Domaine Forget International Festival, the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. At the Opéra de Montréal, he successively directed two world premieres by composer Julien Bilodeau (with texts by Michel-Marc Bouchard): La Beauté du monde and La Reine-Garçon, two important milestones in the modern history of operatic creation in Canada.
Jean-Marie made his debut in Moscow with the Russian National Orchestra and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris for an opera program with Marie-Nicole Lemieux. He conducts with great success the production of Werther by Bruno Ravella in Nancy and in Montpellier, a revival which was the subject of a video recording in June 2021. In Nancy, he is at the orchestra desk for Ariane et Barbe-Bleue where his direction is unanimously praised by critics.
In Canada, he conducts the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver Quebec, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Halifax as well as the National Arts Orchestra. Abroad, he conducts in Hong Kong, Moscow, Cincinnati, Rio de Janeiro, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Oregon, Monterey, San Antonio, Omaha, as well as the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, the Pacific Symphony, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonique de Marseille, the National Symphony of Mexico, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony. He also regularly participates in the Lanaudière International Festival, the Domaine Forget International Festival, the Round Top (Texas) and Grant Park (Illinois) festivals, as well as the Elora Festival and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.
Over the years, Jean-Marie has been artistic director of the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, music director of the Colorado Music Festival and the Columbus Symphony in Ohio, the opera program at the Banff Center, Artistic Partner of the Edmonton Symphony, assistant conductor and director of choirs at the Opéra de Montréal as well as musical director of their Atelier lyrique, choirmaster at the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and at the Opéra de Québec and musical director of the orchestra and from the opera workshop of Laval University. For a dozen years, he collaborated closely with Les Violons du Roy. Jean-Marie studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, most notably under Maestro Raffi Armenian, and graduated in conducting, percussion, and music writing. Since 2022, he has been conducting the orchestra and teaching conducting at the same institution.
