David Briskin

Biographie

Directeur musical et premier chef d’orchestre du Ballet national du Canada depuis 2006, David Briskin est reconnu comme un des chefs d’orchestre contemporains les plus accomplis du ballet.

Prior to moving to Canada, David lived and worked for 23 years as a conductor in New York City, working in opera, ballet and in concert. He conducted for seven years with American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City Center and in major opera houses throughout the world and was a seasonal conductor for New York City Ballet, both in New York and on tour in the US and Europe. De plus, il a dirigé presque toutes les principales compagnies de ballet d’Amérique du Nord.

Highly in demand internationally as a guest conductor, David has appeared with The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet and Hamburg Ballet. He has collaborated and conducted many important world premieres including Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet, Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Talbot’s The Winter’s Tale and Wayne McGregor and Max Richter’s MADDADDAM. He has worked closely with composers Missy Mazzoli and Lera Auerbach and has served as Music Director for the Nureyev Legend and Legacy Gala at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London. 2024/25 guest conducting engagements include Hamburg Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and David’s first appearance with The National Ballet of Japan in Tokyo.

David has appeared with orchestras and opera companies throughout Europe, Asia and North America including the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore, Cincinnati Pops, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Windsor and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, as well as Calgary Opera, Manitoba Opera, Opera Carolina, Lake George Opera and Sarasota Opera, among others.

Over the years, David has been extremely active in arts education. In 2008, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music where he taught conducting and served as Director of Orchestral Activities and Conductor of the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra until 2015. He was Conductor for the Juilliard School’s Dance Division for 13 years and has mentored several emerging conductors.

David has served on juries for the Ontario Arts Council, the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto and Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation. Il a été un ardent défenseur de la vie musicale à Toronto en s’exprimant publiquement au nom du Ballet national, du Festival Luminato et de l’Université de Toronto, entre autres.