Conductor Erik Ochsner

Erik Ochsner is considered by audiences and critics alike to be one of the leading film-with-live-orchestra conductors due to his energy, attention to detail and precise synchronization. Equally comfortable on the concert stage or leading opera, oratorio and multi-media performances, he has performed in Adelaide, Athens, Beijing, Calgary, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jakarta, Kitchener-Waterloo, Krakow, Leipzig, Louisiana, Melbourne, México City, Montreal, Moscow, Nashville, New York, Ottawa, Portland, Reykjavik, Richmond, Rochester, Round Top, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Sofia, South Bend, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Taipei, Tampere, Tokyo, Vancouver, Youngstown, and Wellington, NZ.
Ochsner was invited to conduct the world premiere of Mary Poppins in Concert (1964) at the Sydney Opera House; was Principal Touring Conductor of La La Land Live in Concert, for which he conducted 50 performances of Justin Hurwitz’s Academy Award and Grammy Award winning score across the globe, and on 40 hours’ notice, he flew to Taiwan to conduct Beauty and the Beast in Concert to fill in for an ailing colleague! His versatility as a conductor has stretched across a broad range of repertoire: from conducting as few as five performers in contemporary and modern works, to leading 300 performers in Live to Projection film concerts.

Last year Ochsner made his debut with both the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and the South Bend Symphony leading performances of Ghostbusters: Live in Concert! He also conducted a Día de Muertos concert in Sound Bend. With the Vancouver Symphony, he conducted Star Wars in Concert: Episode 6: Return of the Jedi; and will return with Star Wars in Concert: Episode 7: The Force Awakens in 2023. With Montreal’s FILMharmonique, he has conducted Star Wars in Concert: Episode 4: A New Hope and Star Wars in Concert: Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back and will return for Star Wars in Concert: Episode 6: Return of the Jedi in May 2023.

Ochsner’s long relationship with the Krakow International Film Music Festival have been hugely successful leading sold-out performances in a 16,000-seat arena of Pixar in Concert, Frozen and Beauty and the Beast (both performed in Polish), plus Disney in Concert: The Magic of Music with the Krakow Film Festival Youth Orchestra.

Other films he has conducted: Back to the Future, Batman, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Ghostbusters, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek (2009), and Star Trek Into Darkness. Ochsner is Founder and Music Director of SONOS Chamber Orchestra. SONOS has premiered 4 SONOS commissions; 2 world premieres, 13 US premieres and 3 New York premieres. Recordings include Brian Wilbur Grundstrom: An Orchestral Journey (CD), and Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul (DVD). Ochsner premiered The Music of Star Wars with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, a full-length evening production featuring the music of John Williams and video game composer Gordy Haab plus the Canadian performers Charlie Ross and Émilie Fournier; was Music Director and conductor of the 2017 Opera America New Works Showcase and was a Guest Conductor at the Nanjing (China) Forest Music Festival. In 2021-2022, he has served as Artistic Advisor to Schirmer Theatrical.

Ochsner attended The Pierre Monteux School, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and is a proud Finnish American dual citizen. He lives in New York City, loves travelling, wine and collecting requiem recordings. www.erikochsner.com plus Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.