Guest Conductor: Erik Ochsner

Conductor Erik Ochsner is no stranger to Youngstown audiences, having conducted five concerts over the last two years. Ghostbusters Live in Concert; “Musical Titans” featuring the music of Strauß, Mozart, and Mahler; Home Alone Live in Concert, Unknown and Gorgeous: River and Iron, featuring the music of Copland, Kapp (US premiere), Mosolov, Klami (US premiere), Boyer, Picker and Respighi, and finally a concert alongside The Vindys!

Ochsner is considered by audiences and critics alike to be one of the leading film-with-live-orchestra conductors due to his energy, attention to detail and precise synchronization. His versatility as a conductor has stretched across a broad range of repertoire: from conducting as few as five performers in contemporary and modern works, to leading 300 performers in Live to Projection film concerts. Ochsner is Founder and Music Director of SONOS Chamber Orchestra (New York City), which has commissioned a new work for three actors and orchestra called Grandfather Camp: An Orchestral Fantasy based on the writings of Erik’s former close friend and neighbor, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. The story celebrates the value and various styles of grandparenting!

Upcoming concerts include Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas (Montreal), The Lion King and Frozen (Saudi Arabia), La La Land (Abu Dhabi), Marvel Studios Infinity Saga Concert Experience (Dubai) and a concert of film music in Warsaw, Poland.

Ochsner was invited to conduct the world premiere of Mary Poppins in Concert (1964) at the Sydney Opera House; was Principal Touring Conductor of La La Land Live in Concert, for which he conducted 50 performances of Justin Hurwitz’s Academy Award and Grammy Award winning score across the globe. On only 40 hours’ notice, he flew to Taiwan to conduct Beauty and the Beast in Concert to fill in for an ailing colleague! Last spring, he flew to Louisville on 2 days’ notice to conduct Star Wars in Concert Episode 7: The Force Awakens to fill in for an ailing colleague.

In 2023 he conducted a Dia de los Muertos concert with the South Bend Symphony.

Ochsner’s long relationship with the Krakow International Film Music Festival has been hugely successful leading sold-out performances in a 16,000-seat arena of Pixar in Concert, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King (all performed in Polish), plus Disney in Concert: The Magic of Music with the Krakow Film Festival Youth Orchestra.

Other films he has conducted: Batman, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars in Concert Episode 4: A New Hope, Star Wars in Concert Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars in Concert Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars in Concert Episode 7: The Force Awakens

Equally comfortable on the concert stage or leading opera, oratorio and multi-media performances, he has performed in Adelaide, Athens, Beijing, Calgary, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jakarta, Kitchener-Waterloo, Krakow, Leipzig, Louisiana, Melbourne, México City, Montreal, Moscow, Nashville, New York, Ottawa, Portland, Reykjavik, Richmond, Rochester, Round Top, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Sofia, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Taipei, Tampere, Tokyo, Vancouver, Wellington, NZ.

Ochsner premiered The Music of Star Wars with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, a full‑length evening production featuring the music of John Williams and video game composer Gordy Haab plus the Canadian performers Charlie Ross (“The One-Man Star Wars”) and Émilie Fournier; was Music Director and conductor of the 2017 Opera America New Works Showcase and was a Guest Conductor at the Nanjing (China) Forest Music Festival. Recordings include Brian Wilbur Grundstrom: An Orchestral Journey (CD), and Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul (DVD). He served as Artistic Advisor to Schirmer Theatrical.

Ochsner attended The Pierre Monteux School, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and is a proud Finnish‑American dual citizen. He lives in New York City, loves travelling, wine and collecting requiem recordings. www.erikochsner.com plus Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.