Oregon Symphony Conductor Bio

Jeff Tyzik

Principal Pops Conductor

Jeff Tyzik has earned a reputation as one of America's most innovative pops conductors and is recognized for his brilliant arrangements, original programming and engaging rapport with audiences of all ages. During the 2008/09 season, Tyzik he begins a new role as principal pops conductor of the Oregon Symphony, celebrates his 15th season as Principal Pops Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to serve as principal pops conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

In his 15 years with the Rochester Philharmonic, where his contract was recently extended to 2011, Tyzik has written more than 160 works for the orchestra. His newly recorded disc of works by Gershwin with pianist Jon Nakamatsu and the Rochester Philharmonic on the Harmonia Mundi label has received exceptional critical acclaim and debuted at the top of the classical Billboard chart. Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker, called the disc “one of the best things I’ve heard this year.”

"What's great about Tyzik,” writes John Pitcher of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, “is his way of making any concert seem contemporary and approachable without sugarcoating anything, without dumbing down the musical experience.”

Highly sought after as a guest conductor, Tyzik has appeared with orchestras such as the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, the New York Pops, the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to his commitments in Oregon, Rochester and Vancouver, during the 2008/09 season he continues his annual appearance with the Toronto Symphony and performs with orchestras across North America, including Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and New Jersey, as well as the Florida Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, among others.

A native of Hyde Park, NY, Tyzik earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied composition/arranging with Radio City Music Hall's Ray Wright and jazz studies with the great band leader Chuck Mangione. Tyzik spent the next few years working with Mangione, becoming a skilled record producer, while continuing to be active on his own as a performer and arranger. These experiences led Tyzik to one of the great early opportunities of his career – producing a Grammy winning album with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Orchestra. To this day, he credits Severinsen as one of his greatest musical and professional inspirations.

Tyzik lives in Rochester with his wife, Jill. For more information, visit Tyzik’s new web site, jefftyzik.com.