British conductor Karel Mark Chichon continues to thrill international audiences with his temperament, passion and musicianship. In recognition to his services to music, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England made Chichon an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 2012. In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his achievements within the profession.

Born in London in 1971, Chichon hails from Gibraltar. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) and was assistant conductor to Giuseppe Sinopoli and Valery Gergiev.

In May 2017 he was appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, a position which he has been renewed three times until the 2026-2027 season. Critics and public alike have credited Chichon for having transformed the orchestra, increasing record high annual concert subscribers as well as attracting the world’s finest conductors and soloists and in so doing firmly establishing the orchestra as one of the leading ensembles of Europe. During his tenure the OFGC has become the only Spanish orchestra that presently records with Deutsche Gramophon and whose recordings have been included as Editor’s Choice of the Gramophone Magazine as well as best new classical music recordings of 2022 in the New York Times, Die Presse in Austria and the International Opera Awards.

From 2011 to 2017 he was Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, enjoying critically acclaimed seasons and receiving praise for his profound interpretation of a wide repertoire and transformative music-making with the DRP. A further testament to his outstanding partnership with the DRP has been the unanimous critical success of the first three albums of the complete orchestral works of Dvorák for the label Hänssler Classic. Critics said “Karel Mark Chichon scores significantly over several esteemed rivals” and praised these first three releases as “the finest versions available”.

His previous positions include Chief Conductor & Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (2009-2012) and Chief Conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra (2006-2009).

Chichon conducts at the Metropolitan Opera New York, Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerisches Staatsoper Munich, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona and with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Wiener Symphoniker, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, New Japan Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Russian National Orchestra.

He performs at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall London, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris, Munich Philharmonie, Elb Philharmonie Hamburg, Alter Oper Frankfurt, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Auditorio Nacional de Musica Madrid, Suntory Hall Tokyo and Seoul Arts Center in South Korea.

In 2016 he made a highly acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with Madama Butterfly, which included one broadcast live on HD in 2,000 cinemas in 66 countries throughout the world. He has recently conducted La Traviata and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera and is part of the exclusive group of directors who return regularly to the venerated coliseum. In 2025-26 he conducted five performances of La Boheme and in 2026-27 he will conduct nine performances of Tosca

From 2006 to 2010 he was Music Director of the “Christmas in Vienna” concerts which were broadcast on Television to millions of viewers all over the world.
He is a regular Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, having recorded numerous CD’s and DVD’s for the renowned record label.