Guillaume Pirard

Currently the Music Director of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Guillaume Pirard has conducted the Cape Symphony, the Orlando Philharmonic, Ensemble X, the New York University and Cornell University Orchestras, the Philharmonic of Moravia, the Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra, the Lviv Philharmonic, and the Mannes School of Music Opera and Orchestra. He served as Assistant Conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic and Ensemble 21.

 

Co-concertmaster and founding member of Brooklyn collective The Knights, Pirard toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe with performances at the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Muzikverein in Vienna, and had major festival appearances at Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, Skaneateles, the Festival-de-Paques in Aix-en-Provence and the Salzburg Festspiele. He has recorded with the ensemble on SONY Classical and Warner Music. Pirard has also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, the Sejong Soloists, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, and with renowned musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Gil Shaham and Reinbert de Leeuw to name a few.

 

A historical performance practice specialist, Pirard studied in Den Haag and Brussels with some of the masters of the romantic, classical and baroque styles such as Vera Beths, Mira Glodeanu and Anner Bylsma. He has played in various period ensembles and chamber music series in Europe and the United States, such as the Helicon Foundation, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, the Staunton Festival, Les Muffatti and the Context series at Rice University.

 

Born in Belgium, Pirard studied at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School, and earned a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the New School. Mr. Pirard has served on the faculty at New York University, Ithaca College and Cornell University.