JAZZIK #1

British conductor Duncan Ward has established himself as one of the most exciting and versatile conductors of his generation. He is Chief Conductor of Philzuid (South Netherlands Philharmonic).

The 2023/24 season saw Duncan return to the London Symphony Orchestra for two projects in his Barbican debut, with Abel Selaocoe and Isabelle Faust as soloists. Further symphonic highlights include with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Dresden Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Lucerne Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, with whom he shares a close relationship. Duncan made his debut at Zurich Opera for a new production of Midsummer Night ’s Dream, as well as returning to Oper Köln for Peter Grimes.

The 2024/25 season sees Duncan conduct new productions at English National Opera (The Turn of the Screw), Oper Zuid (Bluebeard’s Castle) and Opera de Lyon (Cosi Fan Tutte). He will also make his debut at Stuttgart Staatsoper with Britten’s Death in Venice. Symphonic highlights include Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Orchestre Symphonique du Quebec and his debut with Frankfurt Opera Orchestra amongst others.

Duncan made his North American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 with Die Zauberflöte. He additionally conducted the opening ceremony of Salzburg Festival with the Mozarteum Orchester, broadcast live on TV, alongside memorable concerts with Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Les Siècles, Vienna Radio Symphony, Balthasar Neumann and NDR Elbphilharmonie orchestras.

Recent opera productions have included Così fan tutte at the Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg, Kurt Weill ’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in Luxembourg, and the German premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet as well as Die Zauberflöte at Oper Köln. Previous operatic highlights have included the Chinese premiere of Peter Grimes, a new production of La Passion de Simone (Saariaho) at Deutsche Oper Berlin, a chamber version of Manon Lescaut with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival, Death in Venice with Mark Padmore at the St Endellion Festival, as well as a double bill of Bernstein ’s Trouble in Tahiti and Macmillan ’s Clemency with Dutch National Opera, and Don Pasquale, Cendrillon and Hamlet for Glyndebourne-on-Tour.

Duncan is passionate about a hugely wide-ranging repertoire, equally at home working with period instrument ensembles such as Les Siècles or Balthasar Neumann, as with contemporary music specialists like Ensemble Modern or Ensemble Intercontemporain. Alongside his more conventional concerts, he has led acclaimed productions with the homeless performers of Streetwise Opera, including at the London 2012 Olympics, directed 500 amateur musicians in a supersize Riley ‘In C’ at the Elbphilharmonie, and made several Indian classical collaborations with multi-Grammy nominated Anoushka Shankar, as well as celebrated Nordic folk band Dreamers’ Circus.

Also committed to several music charity projects, in his late teens Duncan co-founded the WAM Foundation, enabling young British musicians to teach in schools across India. He has also regularly collaborated with the South African nonprofit organisation MIAGI, for whom he directed a major tour in 2018 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Nelson Mandela ’s birth. Through his work across India, Duncan had the rare privilege to be personally invited to study Indian classical music with the late great sitarist Ravi Shankar.

From 2012-14 Duncan was the first ever Conducting Scholar of the Berliner Philharmoniker Karajan Akademie, a position created for him by Sir Simon Rattle. He also previously held positions of Associate Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Principal Conductor of Sinfonia Viva. Additionally an accomplished composer – winner of the 2005 BBC Young Composer of the Year – Duncan is published by Peters Edition. His works have been performed and recorded by the Swedish Radio Symphony, Magdalena Kozena, London Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Makoto Ozone is a unique force in both jazz and classical music, blending sound worlds and a host of influences into his performances. Born in Kobe, Japan, he was self-taught in jazz, under his father’s guidance, first on the organ, then piano. He first came to public attention when he gave his solo recital at the Carnegie Hall in 1983, following his graduation from Berklee College of Music. Makoto then became the first Japanese artist to sign an exclusive contract with CBS and released his first album, Ozone, a year after his Carnegie debut.

His stellar career in jazz, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2003, has brought him regularly to the forefront of the international jazz scene, recording and touring with musicians such as Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Paquito D’Rivera, Anna Maria Jopek, Branford Marsalis, and others. In 2004, he formed his own big band in Japan, “No Name Horses” which has regularly toured to Europe, North America and Asia since its creation.  In more recent years, Makoto has expanded into classical repertoire, alongside his jazz engagements. Having first performed Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue in 1996, he now performs concertos by Mozart, Bernstein, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov with major orchestras. Alongside his performing schedule, Makoto composes music, with over 300 pieces to his name, many for ‘No Name Horses’, as well as a symphony and piano concerto.

In 2014, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic invited Makoto to join their Asian tour. Following this, he performed with the orchestra at the Lincoln Center, New York, in 2014 and again in 2017, from which a recording ‘Beyond Borders’ with performances of Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue and Bernstein The Age of Anxiety was released. He has collaborated with a prestigious list of conductors including François-Xavier Roth, Marin Alsop, Alan Gilbert, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Lahav Shani, Thomas Zehetmair and Charles Dutoit and orchestras including San Francisco Symphony, Sao Paulo Symphony, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, as well as many orchestras in Japan, such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra and Sapporo Symphony.

In the 2024/25 season, Ozone will make his debut with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, performing the European premiere of his own piano concerto Mogami. He will also perform with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Lahav Shani, both in Rotterdam and at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, with the Oregon Symphony and Kevin John Edusei, and will be the featured soloist at the Philharmonie Essen for their New Year’s concert, as well as performances at Chopin and His Europe Festival in Warsaw and Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Recent highlights include performances with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic at Hollywood Bowl, WDR Big Band, a collaboration project with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, as well as a year-long residency with the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra. Ozone collaborates with a prestigious list of conductors including Marin Alsop, Bertie Baigent, Jader Bignamini, Kevin John Edusei, Alan Gilbert, Jun Maerkl, Lahav Shani, Kahchun Wong and Kazuki Yamada.

Makoto Ozone has an extensive discography, releasing over 30 albums under his name and as a composer in solo, duo and trio settings, as well as performing as a collaborator on many others. January 2024 saw the hugely successful release of Makoto’s latest album Trinfinity (Universal Music), featuring Shimpei Ogawa on bass and Kunito Kitai on drums.

Makoto’s many awards include the Kinokuniya Theatre Award (2000), Kobe City Culture Award (2005), Fumio Nanri Prize (2007), Hyogo Prefecture Culture Award (2009), Art Encouragement of Education, Culture, Sports, Science Minister’s Prize (2014). In 2018, Makoto received the Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon by the Government of Japan. This is Japan’s highest award to individuals who have made significant contributions to the nation’s academic or cultural life.