Mario Venzago

Who is Mario Venzago?

Mario Venzago is a Swiss conductor. His piano studies began at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna.

His other positions have included music directorships with Stadtorchester Winterthur, the Heidelberg Opera, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Frankfurt/Bremen, Graz Opera, Sinfonieorchester Basel, and the Basque Euskadi National Orchestra in Spain. From 2004 to 2007, he was Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Venzago made his American debut in 1988 at the Hollywood Bowl while he was a conducting fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute studying with Leonard Bernstein. He became Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 2002. His initial contract in Indianapolis was for four years. He renewed his contract in 2005, for one year, and with an "evergreen" agreement for automatic annual renewal, depending on mutual consent.