After graduating from the University of Toronto and the prestigious Orchestral Conducting program at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Mr. Oleskevich returned to Canada and began a 25-year association with Opera Hamilton as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master. He conducted numerous productions including Die Zauberflöte, La Bohème, L’Elisir d’Amore, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Die Fledermaus, Eine Nacht in Venedig and Die Csárdásfürstin. He has performed as guest conductor with Symphony Nova Scotia, Chebucto Symphony, Nova Sinfonia, Hamilton Philharmonic, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, Scarborough Philharmonic, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Valley Festival.
While in Austria, he conducted the Pro Arte Orchestra for radio broadcast, the Academy Orchestra and the Niederösterreichische Tonkünstler Orchester in the Musikverein in Vienna. Recognized for academic and musical achievement, he received numerous awards and bursaries that include a Canada Council grant for conducting and has taught at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Acadia University and Dalhousie University.
Currently Music Director of Chebucto Symphony, Mr. Oleskevich was Director of the Dalhousie University Symphony and conducted Dalhousie Opera’s production of Encounters. He also conducted Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Carmen and Don Giovanni for the Halifax Summer Opera Festival.Formerly a long-time resident of Burlington, Mr. Oleskevich now lives in the village of Port Williams in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
