JAYCE OGREN is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the finest young conductors to emerge from the United States. He recently finished his tenure as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, having been appointed by Franz Welser-Möst.

In May 2009, Ogren made his subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra and subsequently in August at the Blossom Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra, and has made key debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall; the Grand Rapids Symphony; and with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he conducted works by Haydn, Ligeti and Beethoven.

Ogren made his New York debut in the 2007/08 season in two programs with the International Contemporary Ensemble under the auspices of the Miller Theater, resulting in a return invitation the following season. Last summer, Jayce was invited to conduct a staged production of Mozart's Magic Flute with the New York City Opera. This also has led to an immediate re-invitation for a full production. He started the 2009/10 season with his debut with the Canadian Opera Company, conducting Stravinsky’s The Nightingale & Other Short Fables. In November 2009, Jayce made his London debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, conducting Ives and Copland. This season also includes his debut with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin at the Philharmonie Berlin.

A native of Hoquiam, Washington, Jayce Ogren previously served as a conducting apprentice with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, working with Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. Aided by a U.S. Fulbright Grant, Ogren recently completed a postgraduate diploma in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden. In Sweden, he has conducted the orchestras of Gävle, Helsingborg, and Norrköping; the SAMI Sinfonietta; the Swedish National Orchestra Academy; and Stockholm's Opera Vox. He has also conducted Finland’s Vaasa City Orchestra. In the United States, he has appeared with the New World Symphony, Boston’s Callithumpian Consort, the Harvard Group for New Music, and the New England Conservatory Opera Theater.

Jayce Ogren received a Bachelor’s degree in composition from St. Olaf College in 2001 and a Master’s degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory in 2003. He has been invited to participate in conducting courses and master classes in both the U.S. and Europe, including two summers at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. His principal teachers have been Steven Amundson, Jorma Panula, Charles Peltz, and David Zinman.

Jayce Ogren is a published composer whose music has been premiered at venues including the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, the Brevard Music Center, the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, the American Choral Directors Association Conference, and the World Saxophone Congress. His work, titled Symphonies of Gaia has been performed by ensembles on three continents and serves as the title track on a new DVD featuring the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Devoted to education, Jayce Ogren has worked with student musicians throughout the United States, appearing most recently as a guest composer/conductor at the 2004 Washington All-State Music Festival. In 2001, the Minnesota Music Educators Association named Jayce Ogren their Composer of the Year.