Yannick Nézet-Séguin
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Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Renowned Conductor 

b. March 6, 1975

“… I want our audiences to hear the orchestra in new ways and to expand [its] boundaries.”

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is an award-winning openly gay international conductor, regarded as one of the top talents of his generation. He leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Orchestré Metropolitan.

Born in Montreal, Canada, the son of two professors, Nézet-Séguin took up the piano at the age of 5. By aged 10, he had set his sights on conducting.

Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Montreal. He pursued choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

At 19, Nézet-Séguin shadowed the renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini. The experience led Nézet-Séguin to his first position in 1994 as musical director of the Choer Phonique de Montréal. He subsequently started his own orchestra and vocal ensemble, which he led until 2002. From 1998 to 2002, he also served as the chorus master and assistant conductor of the Opéra de Montréal. 

In 2008 Nézet-Séguin began a 10-year run as principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands. For six of those years, he also served as principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic.

In 2010 Nézet-Séguin was named music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Philadelphia extended his contract three times, until 2030, and added artistic director to his title. The Metropolitan Opera, New York, named him its third music director in 2018, and a year later, he also signed a lifetime commitment to Montreal’s Orchestré Metropolitan as artistic director and principal conductor. He is an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and an honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Lauded by The New York Times as “phenomenal,” Nézet-Séguin has sold out engagements with the world’s leading orchestras and with opera houses from New York to Milan. He has released numerous albums on international labels. Under his leadership, The Philadelphia Orchestra’s recording of Florence Price Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 won a 2021 Grammy.

Among other official recognition, Nézet-Séguin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada—one of the country’s highest civilian honors—and received the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the Quebec government’s highest arts award. His many accolades also include the Royal Philharmonic Society Award and Canada’s National Arts Centre Award. Eight prestigious universities have presented him with honorary doctorates. 

Nézet-Séguin is the subject of the 2021 documentary “Yannick: An Artist’s Journey.” In 2023 he served as the conducting consultant on two films: Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-nominated “Maestro” and the Canadian film “Days of Happiness.” 

Nézet-Séguin lives in Montréal and Philadelphia with his husband, Pierre Tourville, a professional violist.