The distinguished conductor Michel Tabachnik has held the position of Chief Conductor of the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra in Lisbon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Lorraine and the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris. His impressive roster of orchestras includes the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebow Orchestra, Amsterdam, Tokyo NHK, Orchestre de Paris, and festivals such as Lucerne, Salzburg, Aix en Provence, etc…

Michel Tabachnik has just been appointed chief-conductor of the Noord-Nederlands Orkest (NNO). He will take over this responsibility from September 2005. During season 2004-2005, Michel Tabachnik conducted the Prague Philharmonia while on tour at the "Cité de la Musique" of Paris. « The audience gave Michel Tabachnik an extended ovation, said the paper France-Soir, pointed out that "Michel Tabachnik lets himself be transported by the music, very moving, giving a magnificent interpretation". His friend Pierre Boulez himself warmly congratulated the conductor not least for his program which embodied the eclecticism of Michel Tabachnik. The Maestro indeed has always liked to juxtapose the repertoires of different periods. The two highlights of the evening were, without a doubt, the Ouverture of Lohengrin by Wagner and Terretektorh by Xenakis.

Michel Tabachnik is also a respected pedagogue. In addition to leading Master Classes in Amsterdam (NOS), Lisbon (the Gulbenkian Foundation), Paris Conservatoire, Stockholm Conservatory, etc, he has also held the position of Professor of Conducting at both the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto (1984-1991), and the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen (1993-2001).

Michel Tabachnik studied piano, composition and conducting in his home town of Geneva. As a young conductor he was a protégé of Igor Markevitch, Herbert von Karajan and Pierre Boulez, acting as the latter's assistant for four years, mainly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London. This led him to become closely involved with the music of our time and to perform many world Premieres, particularly those of Iannis Xenakis who considered him a favorite interpreter.

In addition to his work as a conductor, Michel Tabachnik is highly regarded as a composer. He has been honored with many important commissions including La Légende de Haïsha for the anniversary of the Bicentenaire de la Révoltion Française, Le Cri de Mohim for the 700th Year of Switzerland, or Le Pacte des Onze for I.R.C.A.M. Paris.