George Hanson, Music Director and Conductor, Tucson Symphony Orchestra

Posted by Gib Raymond

on Oct 10, 2011

Enthusiastic audiences and rising ticket sales have marked George Hanson’s 15 season tenure as Music Director and Conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, where he conducts more than 40 concerts each year.

Recognized as an important American conductor in the U.S. and Europe, Mr. Hanson assisted Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic from 1993 to 2000 and made his New York debut there in 1999 as part of the “Completely Copland” festival, earning praise from the New York Times for his conducting.

He has appeared with over 90 symphony orchestras and opera companies in 20 countries, including the orchestras of Warsaw, Stuttgart and Budapest, the Radio orchestras of Berlin and Hamburg, the Atlanta Symphony, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the South African National Symphony, the Osaka Symphony and the Nuremberg Symphony in Germany.

In 2003, Mr. Hanson received the Echo Klassik award for his recording of music of Anton Rubinstein, joining conductors Nicholaus Harnoncourt and Simon Rattle as recipients of this prestigious honor, second only to the Grammy in international importance.

A versatile musician, he shared the stage with his mentor and teacher Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood, appeared with Tony Bennett and Dizzy Gillespie, and recorded with the rock group R.E.M.

In 2008, Mr. Hanson conducted the TSO in its recording debut. The CD, André Mathieu: Concerto No. 4 and Orchestral Works, was commercially released worldwide on the Analekta label and debuted at #2 on the classical sales chart in the U.S. and #1 in Canada. The recording continues to receive international acclaim.

Mr. Hanson made his South American debut in September, 2010 conducting the Filarmonica de Bogotá in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra and the Bernstein Serenade.

On October 14 of this year, he will begin his 16th season with the TSO conducting the opening night program of the Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz and Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini featuring pianist Fabio Bidini.