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A quick introduction
Dutch-born conductor Arthur Arnold is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Pacific Region International Summer Music Association (PRISMA Festival & Academy) on Canada’s west coast. This annual festival brings together world-renowned guest artists and outstanding young musicians from leading international conservatories, attracting more than 5,000 audience members to its daily concerts and events.
Since 2016, Arnold has led a pioneering musical collaboration with the Tla’amin Nation. In partnership with the Tla’amin Singers and Drummers, the PRISMA Festival Orchestra performs traditional Tla’amin songs each year, featuring the Nation’s artists as soloists accompanied by a symphony orchestra — a meaningful and ongoing cultural collaboration.
From January 2012 until his resignation in March 2022, Arnold served as Music Director of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. He stepped down in protest of the war in Ukraine, taking a principled stand.
Arnold is the driving force behind The Mosolov Project. After discovering lost manuscripts of the repressed Soviet composer Alexander Mosolov in Russian archives, he brought these works back to life in performance and recording. He conducted and recorded Mosolov’s Fifth Symphony (1965) and Harp Concerto (1939) in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, resulting in a Naxos CD release. Whether in core symphonic repertoire or rediscovered works, his performances combine architectural precision with expressive intensity.
Arthur Arnold believes that music finds its deepest meaning in trust, shared responsibility, and human connection.
Highlights
As co-founder and Artistic Director of the PRISMA Festival (Pacific Region International Summer Music Association), Arnold has built an internationally recognized summer festival and academy on Canada’s west coast. Each year, advanced students from around the world work intensively with leading musicians from major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Seattle Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Held in Powell River, British Columbia, the two-week festival presents symphonic and chamber music concerts, masterclasses, recitals, and community outreach, attracting more than 5,000 audience members each summer. Its collaborative environment emphasizes artistic excellence, mentorship, and meaningful engagement between musicians and audiences. This work in Powell River was recently featured nationally on CBC Radio’s The Current, highlighting his decision to leave the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and his ongoing efforts to build a lasting cultural legacy on Canada’s west coast.
Listen to the feature:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/he-left-the-moscow-symphony-in-protest-now-he-s-helping-a-small-b-c-town-take-centre-stage-1.7565484
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Under his leadership, the orchestra performed in major venues across Europe, Russia, and Asia and expanded its recording projects, including the revival of suppressed Soviet repertoire.
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