British conductor Karel Mark Chichon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and pursued orchestral conducting with Leopold Hager at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. From 2006 to 2009, Chichon was the chief conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra, followed by a period from 2009 to 2012 when he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. From 2011 to 2017, Chichon was also the chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern. In 2017, Chichon was named the chief conductor and artistic director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. He received the Order of the British Empire in 2012, and in 2016 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016, conducting Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Chichon has recorded for Haenssler, Deutsche Grammophon, and SWR Music. ~ Blair Sanderson