Michael Christie

Education

He graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance.

Career

Following the competition, he became an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim, conducting both in Chicago and at the Berlin State Opera. Franz Welser-Möst named Christie assistant conductor at the Zurich Opera for the 1997-1998 season. Christie became the music director of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder in 2000.

In October 2011, CMF announced that it has extended Christie"s contract for five more years.

In November 2012, Christie stepped down as Colorado Music Festival"s music director, effective after the 2014 season. In December 2004, Christie was appointed the 10th music director of the Phoenix Symphony, with an initial contract of 5 years from 2005 to 2010.

In February 2008, the orchestra announced the extension of his contract to 2015. However, in January 2012, the orchestra announced a revised conclusion of Christie"s tenure with the Phoenix Symphony, after the 2012–2013 season.

With the Phoenix Symphony, Christie has recorded music of Mark Grey for the Naxos label.

In August 2005, Christie was named the 5th music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, with an initial contract of 3 years. His first Brooklyn Philharmonic concert as music director was in February 2006. In September 2007, the Brooklyn Philharmonic announced the extension of Christie"s contract with the orchestra through the 2009–2010 season, with an evergreen clause to allow for yearly renewal.

His Brooklyn Philharmonic tenure concluded in June 2010.

According to one critic, "the orchestra saw its overall quality fall off drastically under music director Michael Christie," and was forced to cancel the 2010-2011 season entirely, while The New York Times praised his programming as "fresh and adventurous" and wrote that he "drew an energetic performance from his players."

In January 2012, the Minnesota Opera announced the appointment of Christie as its music director, as of the 2012–2013 season. In February 2014, Michael Christie"s contract with the Minnesota Opera was extended to the 2017–2018 season.

From 2001 to December 2004, Christie was chief conductor of the Queensland Orchestra. The couple married in 2006, and they have two children.

Achievements

• Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he received a special prize for "outstanding potential" at the First International Sibelius Conductor’s Competition in Helsinki at age 21. As a token of gratitude for his eight years of work as maestro of the symphony, the board of directors of the Phoenix Symphony named him music director laureate in 2013.