BIOGRAPHY
Born in Sydney, Australia, Michael B. PON began his musical studies at the age of 5 on the Piano. At age 8 he adopted the violin as his major instrument, which lead to various achievements and awards and a career as a professional violinist both in Australia and France. In 1997 he received a 2-year grant to study Conducting in Paris, and in 1999 he obtained his Diplôme Supérieur/Masters in Orchestral Conducting. Since then he has been selected to participate in numerous international events, such as the Eighth Cadaqués International Conducting Competition (Spain), the 49th Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors (France), and the Competition for the Selection of a Young Associate Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. In 2001, he was awarded the Gold Medal and in the year following the Gold Trophy in the Concours en Direction d'Orchestre des Trophèes d’Or des Enfants du Monde (France).
He was a Quarter-Finalist in Jordania’s 2004 International Conducting Competition in the Ukraine, a Semi-Finalist in the Competition for the Selection of an Assistant Conductor of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra (U.S.A.), and was a finalist for the Assistant Conductorship of the North Carolina Symphony (U.S.A.). Mr PON's conducting studies have taken him to all four corners of the globe, enabling him to work with and observe some of the worlds leading conductors and teachers. Some of these have included M. Jorma Panula (Australia), M. Christopher Warren-Green (New Zealand), M. Robert Spano, M. Seiji Osawa (U.S.A.), M. David Zinnman, M. Colin Metters, M. Howard Griffiths (Switzerland), M. Yutaka Sado (France), M. Daniel Lewis, M. Michael Morgan (U.S.A.), M. Gianluigi Gelmetti (Italy), M. Benjamin Zander (England), M. Joseph Gifford (Italy), M. David Loebel, M. Larry Rachleff (U.S.A.), M. Ken-ichiro Kobayashi (Japan), M. Dominique Rouits (France), and M. Laurent Petitgirard (France).
In such a short time, this young maestro has lost no sight of his hopes of becoming one of Australia’s great professional conductors. He has already conducted a number of important orchestras including the Auckland Philharmonia, the American Youth Orchestra, the Festival Orchestra di Sofia, the Kharkov Philharmonic, the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonic de Provence, the Melbourne & Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and the Orchestre du Festival de Musique de Flaine. Some of Michael’s short-term goals include having the honour and privilege to be invited to conduct symphony orchestras around the world. Michael PON currently resides in France.
