Jean-Marie Zeitouni

In February 2025, following a highly competitive international search, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was thrilled to welcome Jean-Marie as our Music Director. He is only the third Canadian and ninth person overall to hold this integral role, making it a significant milestone in our orchestra’s nearly 75-year history. This landmark appointment is the culmination of a 19-year relationship with the ESO, in which Jean-Marie has served as guest conductor, building strong bolds with our musicians and becoming a perennial audience favourite. 

Since October 2025, 21 years after making his debut as a professional opera conductor at Opéra de Québec, he was appointed as their Artistic and Music Director. Jean-Marie will present his first program during the 2026 edition of the Festival d’opéra de Québec 

During the 2025–2026 season, beyond a multitude of programs in Edmonton, his engagements will include conducting La Cenerentola at the Opéra de Québec, Carmen at the Opéra de Montréal, as well as concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and for the first time in Portugal at the Casa da Música in Porto. 

Jean-Marie has recently conducted notable productions such as Sigurd in Marseille, Carmen in Lausanne, Médée in Montpellier, and Massenet's Grisélidis with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, which gave rise to a discographic recording. He has also conducted the Brussels Philharmonic for a recording dedicated to the French cello in the Bru Zane collection, as well as the Orchestre National de Lille for the recording of a French arias recital with soprano Vannina Santoni. At the Opéra de Montréal, he successively conducted two world premieres by composer Julien Bilodeau on texts by Michel Marc Bouchard: La Beauté du monde and La Reine-Garçon, two important milestones in the history of lyrical 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 operatic program alongside Marie-Nicole Lemieux. He conducted Bruno Ravella's production of Werther with great success in Nancy and Montpellier, a revival that was videotaped in June 2021. In Nancy, he led the orchestra in Ariane et Barbe Bleue, where his conducting received unanimous critical acclaim. 

In Canada, Jean-Marie has worked with nearly every major symphony orchestra. He has conducted across the US as well, including New York, Boston, Seattle, Honolulu, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Detroit, Monterey, Houston, San Antonio, Oregon and Omaha. Further abroad, his work has also taken him to Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and more. 

Over the years, Jean-Marie has served as Artistic Director of the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival and the Columbus Symphony in Ohio. For over twelve years, he was a key collaborator with Les Violons du Roy, where he successively held the positions of Conductor in Residence, Associate Conductor, and Principal Guest Conductor. A graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal in conducting, percussion and musical writing, where he studied with Raffi Armenian, Jean-Marie now teaches conducting to their students.