Mario Venzago was born in Zurich, and studied there and in Vienna with Hans Swarovsky before starting his career as a pianist with Swiss Radio in Lugano. From 1986 to 1989 he was music director of the Heidelberg Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra and later served as chief conductor of the German Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Graz Opera, the Basque National Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish National Orchestra in Gothenburg. He was Artistic Director of the Baltimore Summer Music Fest and from 2002 to 2009 Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In 2010 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle and in the same year chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, as well as Artist in Association with the Tapiola Sinfonietta. He is also Schumann Guest Conductor of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra and holds the position of Conductor Laureate of the Basel Symphony Orchestra. Mario Venzago’s distinguished conducting career includes engagements with major orchestras throughout the world among them the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra and has brought a series of acclaimed recordings.