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BMF Orchestra Musical
Director and Principal Conductor
Gerhardt Zimmermann has been Music Director and Principal Conductor of the BMF
Orchestra since 1993. Zimmermann also holds the position of Music Director and
Conductor of the Canton Symphony Orchestra (Ohio). The Canton Symphony Orchestra
has just celebrated his 25th anniversary. Zimmermann has just been named Director
of Orchestral Activities at the University of Texas, Austin. And after serving
21 years as Music Director/Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, he is currently
Conductor Laureate of that orchestra.
His appearances as guest conductor are much in demand with orchestras all across
the country. After his debut with the Colorado Philharmonic in 2003, the Denver
Post said “…one would be hard pressed to recall a better account
of Edward Elgar’s … ‘Enigma’ Variations. Zimmermann,
though with a score on the music desk before the podium never opened it, and
led the orchestra with command and sure concert. It was masterful, the orchestra
responding with sonorous clarity.” And the Rocky Mountain News read: “Zimmermann
and company created an exquisite reading of Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations… the
conductor, working from memory, made every note count. His control over the proceedings
was complete, and the orchestra responded with some of its finest playing of
the season.”
Of his leading the National Symphony (Washington, DC) in a five concert Beethoven
festival, the Washington Times, under the headline “Heavenly Seventh,” wrote, “one
of the marvels of Maestro Zimmermann’s baton was they subtlety of the rubato.
When tempos fluctuated, they did so naturally…The full power of the National
Symphony…arrived gravely, magnificently under Maestro Zimmermann’s
guidance.”
As comfortable in the pit as on the concert stage, the Maestro has conducted
staged works of Mozart, Verdi, Strauss Jr., Puccini and Gershwin and made his
debut with the Cleveland Opera this past February 2006, conducting Gounod’s
Roméo et Juliette. The Cleveland Plain Dealer remarked that “Zimmermann…went
on to lead a warm, vivid reading… The orchestra responded with a keen
blend of ensemble finesse and solo suavity”. The Akron Beakon Journal added “I’ve
rarely heard the orchestra sound so full or play more expressively than under …… Zimmermann”.
Mr. Zimmermann is also a dedicated advocate
for people with disabilities, donating his time on behalf of organizations
serving people with disabilities for speaking engagements and conferences.
He serves on the National Board of Easter Seals.
American born, Zimmermann lives in Raleigh,
North Carolina with his wife, Sharon, Gerhardt and Sharon have two
children, Anna Marie and Peter Karl Irum.
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