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Arlene Dahl is OCSM's long-serving delegate from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

There is always excitement, eager anticipation and yes, even a bit of apprehension whenever a symphony orchestra welcomes a new Music Director onto the podium. How will their creative vision influence the artistic journey as orchestra and conductor, together, begin a new chapter of music-making?

daniel raiskinHow will they recreate the masterpieces of old? How will the exploration of inventive works composed in the 21st century shape the Winnipeg New Music Festival in the years to come? How will the educational innovations influence our youngest audience members? All these questions will be answered in time, but for now, there is tangible excitement in Winnipeg as we welcome our new Music Director, Daniel Raiskin, into our community. His bio reads:

A son of a prominent musicologist, Daniel Raiskin grew up in St. Petersburg. He attended music school and later the celebrated conservatory in his native city, where he studied violin, viola, and conducting. At the age of twenty Daniel Raiskin left the Soviet Union to continue his studies in Amsterdam and Freiburg. Inspired to take up the baton by an encounter with the distinguished teacher Lev Savich, he also took classes with maestri such as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelson, and Jorma Panula. Raiskin, who cultivates a broad repertoire, often looks beyond the mainstream in his strikingly conceived programmes.

Since 2017/2018, he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and held the same title with Orquestra Sinfónica de Tenerife during the 2017/2018 season. His passion for chamber music and chamber orchestra repertoire led to an Artistic Partnership with Chamber Orchestra St. Michael Strings in Finland. Daniel Raiskin was Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz (2005 to 2016) and held the same position with the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lódz (2008 to 2015).

Daniel Raiskin is clearly a musician of sensibility, well versed in his craft; a further example perhaps of one last great gift of the old Soviet Union, the rigour and distinction of its conducting schools.

- David Gutman, Gramophone, 2012

Following an extensive conductor search, Daniel became the first choice of the musicians. The concerts under his baton were exciting, inspired, and he clearly raised the level of playing—a goal that ultimately every orchestra craves. We in the Winnipeg Symphony are looking forward to collaborating with our new maestro and to providing our audiences in Manitoba with music-making of the highest calibre.