PETER BILOEN
Winner of the national conducting prize from The Anton Kersjes Foundation and a coveted Academy Conductor Fellowship at Aspen Music Festival, Peter Biloen is known for his stirring interpretations of both classic and modern repertoire. As the first Dutch conductor to reach the finals of the 2004 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, Biloen led the London Symphony Orchestra in a critically acclaimed concert at the Barbican Centre. 'His economy had elegance. His Mozart was expressive and articulate.' (Colin Anderson, The Classical Source).
Biloen has conducted several world premieres and collaborated with numerous composers, including Witold Lutoslawski, John Cage, Pierre Boulez and Louis Andriessen. Recent conducting appearances include the much-praised opening of the Amsterdam Grachtenfestival with the Marschner opera Der Vampyr, concerts with the Asko|Schönberg ensemble, and an international tour with the Dutch National Student Orchestra featuring performances in such prominent venues as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Konserthuset Stockholm. 'First-class ensemble playing under the inspiring leadership of Peter Biloen,' enthused the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
From 2006-2008, Biloen held the post of Assistant Conductor for both the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Philharmonic in The Netherlands. He worked with these orchestras in radio broadcasts, televised performances, rehearsals and recordings for several international labels. He had the honor of assisting Music Director Jaap van Zweden with preparation, rehearsals and performances. He also assisted such guest conductors as Edo de Waart, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Mark Elder, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Frans Bruggen. Biloen made his Concertgebouw debut as Van Zweden's last-minute replacement with the Radio Chamber Philharmonic, performing Fauré's Requiem.
In much demand as a guest conductor, Biloen has led such orchestras as the Gelders Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted at the Festival of Modern Music in the renowned Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He toured through Italy with the Orchestra della Toscana and violinist Roby Lakatos, culminating in a sold-out concert broadcast by Italian National Radio.
Biloen began his conducting studies in the United States. After earning a bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, he studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and received a degree in orchestral conducting from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. His mentors include Jorma Panula, Yuri Simonov, David Zinman and Hans Vonk. An accomplished violist as well, Biloen draws on his rich experience performing under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Sanderling and Evgeny Svetlanov.
A core member of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra for several years, Biloen also performed extensively with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. These experiences have proved essential to his approach to conducting. As he puts it 'Because I've been in that position, playing in orchestras for years, I know what's effective, what's important, what the musicians need from me and what I can ask of them. I speak the language of the orchestra.' Louis Andriessen seems to agree: 'He has an unerring instinct for the right tempo; he is brilliant in rehearsing; amazingly to the point, and also very socially gifted in how to make people give the best they have and to make musicians love the music they play.'
