Biography
In
addition to distinguished careers on the concert podium and as a
teacher, Michel Singher has conducted over seventy operas, ranging in
style from Scarlatti to Stephen Paulus, in hundreds of performances for
European and American opera houses.
He was born in
Paris, the son of Martial Singher, preeminent French baritone of the
1940s and 1950s, and began professional life in his teens as his
father's recital accompanist. His A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard had a large emphasis on French literature. He has spoken French since childhood.
Michel
Singher's maternal grandfather was the internationally revered German
conductor Fritz Busch, who gave Michel his first piano lessons. Singher
spent a decade conducting in German opera houses, including the
Hamburgische Staatsoper. He has spoken German since childhood.
In his initial
years as a repetiteur in Hamburg, Singher assisted Maestro Nello Santi
on many productions of Italian operas. He has studied Italian at
Columbia University.
Maestro
Singher has conducted for many American opera companies from Alaska to
Florida. At the specific request of Charles Mackerras, he was Sir
Charles' understudy for two productions at San Francisco Opera.
On the
symphonic podium, Michel Singher has led the Berlin Radio Symphony
Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony
Orchestra, among many others. He was for several years Professor of
Orchestral Conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, during
which time his concerts with the conservatory's orchestras were
frequently broadcast on NPR's "Performance Today"; he led the Oberlin
Orchestra in an acclaimed all-Beethoven concert in Lincoln Center's
Alice Tully Hall.
He has
conducted works by Luciano Berio, Michael Daugherty (world premiere),
Alexander Goehr, Lee Hoiby, Henry Mollicone, and Stephen Paulus in
their presence and with their unequivocal approvals.
Photo: Hank Schneider
More resourcers on Michel Singher
- http://espressorch.org/bio/michel_singher_bio.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Singher
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