Pouspourikas succeeds Zehnder in Biel
The French conductor Yannis Pouspourikas will become Chief Conductor of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra and Director Concerts of Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn at the start of the 2022/23 season. He succeeds Kaspar Zehnder in this position.
Yannis Pouspourikas is originally from Marseille and now lives in Geneva. He studied at the Geneva Conservatory before becoming Sir Simon Rattle's assistant at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has been a guest conductor at the Opéra National de Paris, the Zurich Opera House, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Teatro Real and many others.
Pouspourikas' five-year contract with Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn begins with the 2022/23 season. The position of Chief Conductor of Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn and Director Concerts of Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn now includes the musical direction of one opera production per season in addition to numerous concert conductorships.
Kaspar Zehnder has been Chief Conductor of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra since 2012 and is Director Concerts of the Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn, an institution newly founded in 2013 following the merger with the theater. From summer 2022, Zehnder will devote himself to new tasks, but will remain closely associated with TOBS, the orchestra and its audiences.