Peter Oundjian

Who is Peter Oundjian?

Peter Oundjian is a Canadian violinist and conductor. The youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother, Oundjian also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan.

Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the violin at age seven with Manoug Parikian. He attended Charterhouse School in Godalming. He continued studies later with Béla Katona. He then attended the Royal College of Music. He further studied at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy DeLay. While at Juilliard, he minored in conducting, and later received encouragement his endeavors when he attended a master class from the eminent German conductor Herbert von Karajan.

In 1980, Oundjian won First Prize at the International Violin Competition in Viña del Mar, Chile. Oundjian became the first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet and held the post for 14 years. A repetitive stress injury forced Oundjian to curtail his instrumental career. He then shifted his full-time musical focus to conducting.

Oundjian was the Artistic Director of the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam from 1998 to 2003. He is also the Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor of the Caramoor International Music Festival. He was the Principal Guest Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for 3 years. For four summers, he led The Philadelphia Orchestra's "Absolutely Mozart" Festival. Oundjian became principal guest conductor and artistic advisor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in September 2006.