Chris van Tuinen graduated with a B.Mus from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2001. In 2005, he completed a Masters in Conducting at the VCA. Experienced in both vocal and instrumental music, he was awarded the John Williams Conducting Scholarship for 2004-2005. He also holds a BA from the University of Queensland, an LLB from QUT and an A.Mus.A from the AMEB. In 2005, Mr van Tuinen was nominated by the Musical Theatre Guild for Best Music Direction. In 2006, he received a Green Room Award nomination in the ‘Best Conductor’ category. During 2008 and 2009, he was a member of the Young Artists program as a conductor with Opera Australia. In 2007, Mr van Tuinen was appointed the inaugural Conducting Fellowship at the Australian Ballet. His credits include Nutcracker, BodyTorque Generations and Les Presages in Sydney as well as performances of After the Rain and Les Presages in Melbourne. He has worked with the WASO, Orchestra Victoria, AOBO and the QSO. He was the Chorus Director for WASO, Conductor of UWACS, Musical Director of Fremantle Chamber Orchestra, and artistic director of Lost and Found Opera. His most recent credits include a 14-city tour of China conducting Turandot for AIOC, Peter and the Wolf, and the Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra with WASO, The Rite of Spring for UWA, The Bells, the Verdi and Mozart Requiems for UWACS and UWA, Mahler’s Symphony No 1 and Scheherazade for WAYO, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia for Staatsoper Hamburg Stabile, Madame Butterfly and Barber of Seville for OzOpera, Abduction from the Seraglio, Guistino, Don Pasquale, Sweeney Todd and The Rape of Lucretia for Lyric Opera and Gianni Schicchi/The Telephone for Powerhouse Opera Queensland. In 2005, Mr van Tuinen performed his re-orchestration of Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle with the Australian Classical Players. As a pianist and conductor, he recently recorded Poulenc’s La voix Humaine and The Emperor of Atlantis for ABC Classic FM.
