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George Pehlivanian captured international attention in 1991 when, at the age of 27, he became the first American to win the Grand Prize at the prestigious Besan‡on Conducting Competition. Since then, he has consolidated his reputation as one of the most compelling conductors of his generation. Mr Pehlivanian, who was born in Beirut, Lebanon, started playing the piano and violin at the ages of three and six, respectively. In 1975, he emigrated with his family to Los Angeles where he soon began to study conducting with Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel and Ferdinand Leitner. At the Academia Chiggiana in Sienna, Italy, where he spent two summers, he was awarded the Diploma di Merito. He has held Principal Guest Conductor positions with the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague (1996-1999) and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (1996-2000). He currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris. Beside his new "job" in Ljubljana, he will continue as Principal Guest Conductor of the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, as well as being a regular guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.