Olle, Eiji
Olle, Eiji
Olle, Eiji, Japanese conductor; b. Hiroshima, Oct. 3, 1956. He was a student of Saito at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo (B.M., 1978) and of Larry Livingston at the New England Cons, of Music in Boston (Artist Diploma, 1981), and also worked with Ozawa (1978–84), Bernstein (1980–90), and Calibidache (1982–83). In 1980 he received the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood, in 1981 he took first prize at the Salzburg conducting competition, and in 1982 he was a fellow at the Los Angeles Phil. Inst. He was music director of the New Bedford (Mass.) Sym. Orch. (1982–84) and the Boston Mozarteum Orch. (1982–89). Oue was also music director of the Greater Boston Youth Sym. Orch. (1982–88), the Brown Univ. Orch. (1985–86), and the Empire State Youth Sym. Orch. (1986–88). From 1986 to 1990 he was assoc. conductor of the Buffalo Phil. In 1990 he took the London Sym. Orch. on a tour of Japan, and in 1990 and 1991 he served as resident conductor of the new Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo. From 1990 he was music director of the Erie (Pa.) Phil. In 1995 he became music director of the Minn. Orch. in Minneapolis, a position he held until 2002. He became chief conductor of the Radio-Philharmonie Hannover in 1998. As a guest conductor, he appeared with leading orchs. throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire