With mounting successes in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Jayce Ogren is building a sterling reputation as one of the finest young conductors to emerge from the United States in recent seasons. He has just been named Music Director of the New York City Opera where this season he leads Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, and in the 2013/14 season will lead new productions of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle at St. Ann’s Warehouse and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at City Center.
A series of high-profile New York City dates in 2012/13 demonstrates Ogren’s wide ranging talents: in addition to New York City Opera, he made his Mostly Mozart Festival debut with the groundbreaking International Contemporary Ensemble; he also led ICE in programs at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre (and the Wien Modern Festival); he joined New York City Ballet for an all-Stravinsky program; and he debuted with the New York Philharmonic on their CONTACT! Series.
In the summer of 2012 Ogren led performances of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Verbier Festival Academy and the European premiere of Bernstein’s West Side Story with Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. He repeats the iconic Bernstein work with the Detroit Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa later this season, and returns to the BBC Symphony at the Barbican in the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Outrage and European premieres of works by David Lang and Paola Prestini.
Recent engagements in America include dates with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the New World Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony. Ogren stepped into a last-minute cancellation for James Levine, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a challenging program that included the world premiere of Peter Lieberson’s song-cycle Songs of Love and Sorrow with Gerard Finley. He also returned to New York City Opera to conduct the American premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna. European guest engagements have included the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, repeat appearances with the Asturias Symphony, regional opera companies and orchestras throughout Scandinavia.
On the opera stage, Ogren made his Canadian Opera Company debut with Stravinsky’s The Nightingale & Other Short Fables, and has led New York City Opera productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, for which he won extensive critical acclaim.
Jayce Ogren was appointed by Franz Welser-Möst as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra. In 2009, led the Orchestra in regular season subscription concerts, and at The Blossom Festival.
A native of Hoquiam, Washington, Ogren received a bachelor’s degree in composition from St. Olaf College in 2001 and a master’s degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory in 2003. Aided by a U.S. Fulbright Grant, he completed a postgraduate diploma in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden and spent two summers at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.
As a composer, Ogren’s works have been premiered at venues including the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, the Brevard Music Center, the American Choral Directors Association Conference, and the World Saxophone Congress. His Symphonies of Gaia has been performed by ensembles on three continents and serves as the title track on a DVD featuring the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.
Jayce Ogren is the founder of Young Kreisler, a band performing Ogren's own work, as well as music ranging from Mahler to Piazzolla to Kurt Cobain. He is a triathlete based in New York City.
