Marko Letonja is one of the leading conductors to emerge from southeastern Europe. He has held positions in various western European countries and in Australia.
Letonja was born in Slovenia's second city of Maribor on August 12, 1961. When he was young, he was interested primarily in rock music, but a high school music teacher won him over to the classics by having him conduct his high school's orchestra. Letonja studied conducting and piano at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana; among his conducting teachers there was Anton Nanut. He went on to the University of Music and Per...