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“An incredible conductor, almost unbelievable - the opinion was unanimous. It was that Alexander Prior, whose rightful tempi, shine, and glorious interpretation, led to an exuberantly exciting performance”
“Alexander Prior confirmed his reputation as an insider-tip. With subtle small gestures he submerged the music down to invisibility, and then ignited storms of sound with furious large gestures.”
Conductor Alexander Prior is Music Director of the Eugene Symphony. He has captivated audiences around the world with his passionate and colourful approach to shaping orchestral sound.
Symphonic highlights include performances with the San Francisco, Detroit, Queensland, and Houston Symphony Orchestras; the German Radio Symphony Orchestra; the German Radio Philharmonic; the Gewandhaus Orchestra; the NDR Symphony Hamburg; the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; the Calgary Philharmonic; the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (the orchestra of the Teatro Real); and the Brevard Festival Orchestra.
Prior’s opera engagements include Martinů’s Mirandolina at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Verdi’s La traviata at Oper Leipzig; Bizet’s Carmen at the Royal Danish Opera; Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Tiroler Festspiele; Verdi’s Rigoletto at Staatstheater Braunschweig and Oper Frankfurt; Martinů’s Julietta at Oper Frankfurt; Richard Strauss’s Elektra at Theater Erfurt and Edmonton Opera; Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with Vancouver Opera; Weingartner’s Orestes at Theater Erfurt; and Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at Theater Erfurt. He has collaborated with singers including Ambur Braid, Nicholas Brownlee, Lindsay Ammann, and Stephan Vinke.
Trained at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, to which he was admitted by special invitation, Prioris also active as a composer. He previously served as Chief Conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra directing subscription seasons as well as special projects and leading the orchestra in a broad range of symphonic repertoire. 2025–2026 marks his debut as Music Director and Conductor of the Eugene Symphony, with programming highlights that include Bernstein’s West Side Story, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”), Duke Ellington’s Harlem, and Handel’s Messiah (arr. Eugene Goossens). Prior passionately believes in the power of music to bring people of all backgrounds and abilities together to inspire a better understanding of our shared humanity.
