Stefan Sanderling

Stefan Sanderling (born 1964, in the former East Berlin, Germany) [ [http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/21/Floridian/Tearing_down_the_walls.shtml John Fleming, "Tearing down the walls". "St. Petersburg Times", 21 September 2003.] ] is an orchestra conductor. His parents are the conductor Kurt Sanderling and the double-bass player Barbara Sanderling [ [http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/04/Artsandentertainment/Sanderling_to_conduct.shtml John Fleming, "Sanderling to conduct his family". "St. Petersburg Times", 4 March 2005.] ] . His half-brother is the conductor Thomas Sanderling. His brother Michael Sanderling is a cellist.

In his youth, Sanderling played the piano and clarinet. His early university experience was in Halle, Germany. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, Sanderling studied with the conductors Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Edo de Waart and John Nelson. He later attended the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and studied with Daniel Lewis. He also studied with Kurt Masur at the Leipzig conservatory.

Sanderling's first professional position was in Potsdam, Germany. In addition, he has been the Music Director of the Staatstheater and the Philharmonic Orchestra Mainz. In 1996, he became chief conductor of the Orchestre de Bretagne and served in this capacity until the end of the 2003-2004 season. He is the principal conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.

In May 2002, Sanderling was appointed the Music Director of the Florida Orchestra [ [http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2002/07/19/TampaBay/Seeking_a_home_in_key.shtml John Fleming, "Seeking a home in key of charm". "St. Petersburg Times", 19 July 2002.] ] , and he officially assumed this position in the 2003-2004 season. In June 2006, Sanderling extended his contract with the Florida Orchestra through the 2010-2011 season [ [http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4713.html Vivien Schweitzer, "Stefan Sanderling Extends Contract with Florida Orchestra". "Playbill Arts", 8 June 2006.] ] .

Sanderling is married to the cellist Isabelle Besancon, who formerly played in the Orchestre de Bretagne, where they met. They were married in November 2002. On 31 December 2002, there was an incident at the Raymond James Stadium where the couple was supposed to meet the Tampa businessman David Harbert at an American football game, as guests. A security guard stopped Besancon from entering the stadium because of her oversized purse, a consequence of heightened security concerns after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The incident escalated because a security guard was reported to have stated that he "couldn't risk letting the couple inside because they were foreigners". The matter resolved in a letter of apology from Barbara Casey, director of communications for the Tampa Sports Authority, to Sanderling [ [http://www.bucsgameday.com/2003/01/10/TampaBay/Maestro_s_football_ou.shtml John Fleming, "Maestro’s football outing hits sour note". "St. Petersburg Times", 1 January 2003.] ] .

Sanderling became Music Director and Conductor of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra at the start of the 2008 summer season. The orchestra performs from late June through mid-August at the Chautauqua Institution.

References

External links

* [http://www.floridaorchestra.org/index.php?pag=about&ab_flg=md Biography from The Florida Orchestra]
* [http://symphony.ciweb.org/index.html Chautauqua Symphony Home page]