Paavo Järvi

Paavo J├ñrvi (born December 30, 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor, and current Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. J├ñrvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to conductor Neeme J├ñrvi and Liilia J├ñrvi. His siblings, Kristjan J├ñrvi and Maarika J├ñrvi, are also musicians. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Max Rudolf and Otto-Werner Mueller, and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. From 1994-97 J├ñrvi was principal conductor of the Malm├ Symphony Orchestra. He was named music director of the Cincinnati Symphony in January 2000, and assumed the post with the 2001-2002 season. In April 2007, the orchestra announced J├ñrvi's contract with the CSO would be extended through 2011, at which point the contract would become an "evergreen" agreement. In addition to his American position, since 2004, he has been the artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Bremen and an Artistic Advisor to Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. In January 2010, however, it was announced that J├ñrvi, who will by then hold three directorships on top of his Cincinnati position, would terminate his tenure with the expiration of his current contract in 2011. In May 2011 he was named Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati Symphony.