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The Israeli conductor, Uri (Uriel) Segal, studied violin and conducting at the Rubin Conservatory in Jerusalem. Then he went to London and enrolled as a conducting student at the Guildhall School of Music from 1966 to 1969. He completed his studies in in Siena.
Uri Segal's international career was launched after he won 1st prize in the Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in New York in 1969. Following that he served as Leonard Bernstein's assistant with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1969 to 1970. Subsequently he developed a fine career conducting major orchestras in Europe and America.
Uri Segal's European debut with the English Chamber Orchestra was soon followed by invitations to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, among others. From 1969 to 1974 he was Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Hungarica in Marlkreis Recklinghausen. In 1972, Segal took the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra on a tour of Poland, the first West German orchestra to visit that country after World War II; he continued as Principal Guest Conductor of that orchestra for over fifteen years. Segal was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (1980-1982) and the Israel Chamber Orchestra.
In 1989 Uri Segal became Music Director of the Chautauqua (New York ) Symphony Orchestra (and Festival) and chief conductor of the Century Orchestra Osaka in Japan. He is also Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra. In North America, recent and upcoming guest conducting engagements include such orchestras as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Portland Symphony (ME), Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Buffalo Symphony and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Abroad, he has appeared with the Spanish National Orchestra (Madrid), Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Hamburger Symphoniker, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the symphonies of Tokyo, Basel and Quebec.
Since his operatic debut in Santa Fe in 1973, Uriel Segal has conducted opera extensively throughout Europe, Japan, Israel and the USA. Recent productions include Madama Butterfly with the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Le Coq d'Or with Opéra de Nice, and The Magic Flute at Chautauqua.
Uri Segal has recorded for Decca and EMI with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Toshiba EMI has recently released a CD of music by Robert Schumann made with the Century Orchestra Osaka in Japan. |
