Sergiu Comissiona
Born on June 16th. 1928 in Bucharest, Rumania, Sergiu Comissiona was a conductor and violinist, who was Music Director for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, from 1991 to 2000.
He began studying the violin at the age of five and was subsequently hired by the Romanian State Ensemble in his teens, making his debut at 17. In his twenties, he was named Principal Conductor of the Romanian National Opera, which he led from 1955 to 1959.
After fleeing the Communist regime in 1959, he emigrated to Israel where he founded the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, leading it until 1967, concurrently directing the Haifa Symphony until 1966. After he made his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, he then emigrated to the United States in 1968. He was also the Music Director of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden from ’66 to ’77, and became the Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic in Hilversum in 1982.
In addition to his distinguished position with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Comissiona was also the Music Director of the New York City Opera as well as Music Director of the Asian Youth Orchestra and he was principal conductor of the Spanish national broadcasting network orchestra in Madrid and the RTVE Symphony. He held music directorships with some of North America’s leading ensembles, including 15 years with the Houston Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony, transforming it from a little known ensemble into a nationally respected orchestra, taking it on its first international tour and directing its first recordings.
From 1997 until his death in 2005, Sergiu Comissiona was principal guest conductor for the USC Thornton Symphony at the University of California.
