American conductor, Charles Prince, studied with Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Gustav Meier, and Kurt Sanderling through the Tanglewood Conducting Seminar (1988 and 1989) after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in music history and theory from Oberlin College. Mr. Prince began his conducting training with Robert Page of The Cleveland Orchestra. He also works extensively with one of Europe's most eminent conductors, Jorma Panula, in Helsinki.
Associate Conductor of the New York Pops from 1996-2003, Mr. Prince is part of the new generation of acclaimed American conductors. He has been a frequent guest conductor with the WDR Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. He was music director of the Tony Award winning production of James Joyce's, “The Dead” on Broadway and in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. As a conductor of Stephen Sondheim's music, Prince led the Brooklyn Philharmonic in a 1999 gala concert weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the London Philharmonic's Sondheim Tonight tribute at the Barbican, which was later issued as a recording.
In 2004, Mr. Prince made his debut with the Seattle Symphony and, in 2006, he conducted the New Year's Eve Gala of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and appeared with The Canadian Brass for the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra in Texas. His 2006 season also included a Leonard Bernstein gala in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania’s Majestic Theater hosted by Jamie Bernstein. Most recently, Mr. Prince has conducted in Austria and the Gettysburg Festival Inaugural Concert at the Gettysburg Majestic Theatre (June 2008). He also participated in Leroy Anderson Birthday tribute concerts,WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and Klagenfurt Stadttheater New Year’s Eve Gala, Klagenfurt, Austria. In 2009, he was named the music director of the Weiner Operettensommer in Vienna. Mr. Prince first guest conducted with the Plainfield Symphony in 2005 and then made a return appearance in October 2008.
In May 2009, Mr. Prince was formally announced as the new Music Director making this his third full season as conductor and Music Director of the Plainfield Symphony.
