Guerguan Tsenov, guest conductor

Conductor Guerguan Tsenov has led most of the top orchestras in his native country Bulgaria: the Sofia Sate Philharmonic, New Symphony Orchestra, FM Classic Symphony Orchestra, Pazardjik Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the National Academy of Music in Sofia. Since moving to the United States in 1999 Mr. Tsenov has collaborated with orchestras such as AACA Orchestra at the Aspen Music Festival, Detroit Civic Orchestra, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and Juilliard Conductors’ Orchestra, among others. During the 2007-2008 season Mr. Tsenov served as a Resident Conductor of the NYU Symphony Orchestra, having performed with the orchestra works such as Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Bartok’s Viola Concerto and others. In the summer of 2007 Mr. Tsenov was invited to the Aspen Music Festival as a conducting fellow having the opportunity to perform with the AACA Orchestra in series of concerts.

Mr. Tsenov is a recipient of many awards and distinctions including the Award of the International Academy of Arts “for his contribution to the contemporary Bulgarian art”, as well as the Award of the Open Society Foundation “for his musical achievements.” He has been a finalist at two of the most prestigious international conducting competitions, Dimitris Mitropoulos in Athens and Gennady Rozhdestvensky in Sofia.

Mr. Tsenov holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School where he studied under the direction of James DePreist. Other conductors with whom he has closely collaborated are Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson Thomas, George Manahan and Larry Rachleff. In addition to his degree from The Juilliard School he also holds a second Master’s Degree in Opera and Orchestral Conducting from The State Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he studied with Vassil Kazandjiev.

Guerguan Tsenov is also an accomplished pianist with international career and numerous awards from international piano competitions. In Europe he has performed in Germany, France and Italy. In Bulgaria he has been broadcast on Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio and has recorded for UNISON Records. He holds a master’s degree in piano performance from Montclair State University where he studied with Mark Pakman.