Violin soloists sometimes add conducting to their activities, dividing their time between the two roles or combining them at times. Famous examples include Pinchas Zukerman, who has served as music director of the English and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, and Joshua Bell, who holds the same post with London’s Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
What ties those instrumentalist-turned-conductors together is that they made the move by choice. But when Peter Oundjian made the switch in 1995, the violinist had none. He was diagnosed with focal dystonia, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions—in his case, in the all-important left hand. It became impossible for him to continue as first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet, one of the premier such ensembles in the world at the time.
But he has gone on to have a second career as impressive as his first, including serving as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2004 through 2018 and heading the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for six years. In 2019, he took over as music director of the Colorado Music Festival and has quickly built its profile. Indeed, Oundjian has enjoyed such success on the podium that many younger classical fans probably aren’t even aware of his earlier incarnation as a major chamber musician.
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