In the course of his international career, Kerry Stratton has conducted orchestras in Europe, North America and Asia. Having earned a degree in conducting from McGill University in Montreal, Stratton later completed graduate studies at the Vienna Conservatory under Sir Charles Mackerras, Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and L'Ecole Pierre Monteux with Charles Bruck.

Since 1988, Kerry Stratton has been Conductor and Music Director of the Toronto Philharmonia, the orchestra-in-residence at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. During his tenure, Stratton developed the orchestra from an amateur ensemble to a fully professional orchestra, with a season of main series concerts, educational programmes, fundraisers and a province-wide touring schedule. As part of his audience development programme, Stratton developed a highly successful adult education course, called "A Little Night Music". Its innovative format includes lectures, discussions and live music, in an intimate and non-intimidating atmosphere. Stratton founded 'Grand Salon' a palm court orchestra, devoted to music of the early 20 th century, which plays to enthusiastic audiences throughout Canada.

Since 1992, he has also been Music Director for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, Ontario, featuring an orchestra-in-residence, accompanying acclaimed artists.

Additionally, through his company, International Touring Productions, he has created Canadian tours for renowned orchestras, such as the George Solti Orchestra, Budapest; the Vienna Concert-Verein and the Czech Philharmonic.

Stratton's engagements have included Budapest Concert Orchestra, Hungarian Chamber Soloists, Prague Chamber Philharmonic, Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic, Slovak Radio Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Orchestra London (Ontario), Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Radio Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic, Janacek Philharmonic. In January 2001, he became the first Canadian to conduct the St. Petersburg Camerata in the Hermitage Theatre at the Winter Palace. In December of 2004 he made his debut with the Beijing Symphony in a concert at the Forbidden City. For his services to Czech and Slovak culture, Stratton is the 2000 winner of the Masaryk Award.

Kerry Stratton is also committed to broadening the repertoire of both concert and recorded orchestral music. Included in his discography is the world premiere recording of Franz Liszt's De Profundis with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra on the Hungaroton label. His recording on Dorian Records entitled Celestial Fantasy, features this and other works of American composer Alan Hovhaness. A long-time devotee to Eastern European composers, he recorded a collection of Slavonic Serenades, with the Moscow Symphony on Dorian Records, which the Washington Post called "a delight." Universal distributes his Dvorak programme recorded with the Prague Radio Orchestra. In 2006 he recorded an all-Brahms programme with the renowned Nurnberg Symphony Orchestra.

Visit www.kerrystratton.com