Gaudenz extends in Jena
The Swiss conductor Simon Gaudenz has extended his contract as General Music Director of the City of Jena by two years until the end of the 2025/2026 season.
After his first positions as Principal Conductor of the Collegium Musicum Basel, and previously as a founding member and Artistic Director of the camerata variabile basel, Simon Gaudenz was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra in 2010. In 2012, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Hamburg Camerata chamber orchestra, with whom he regularly performs at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and continues to be associated as a guest conductor.
Founded over eighty years ago as the Jena Municipal Symphony Orchestra, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra was given its current name in 1969. Under the then chief conductor Günter Blumhagen (1967-1980), the number of musicians was increased to 85. Christian Ehwald (1981-1988), Andreas S. Weiser (1990-1998), Andrey Boreyko (1998-2004), Nicholas Milton (2004-2011) and Marc Tardue (2011-2017) followed as General Music Director, before Simon Gaudenz took over the direction of the orchestra in the 2018.2019 season.
