Ian Arthur Plansker is a conductor, composer and pianist from Detroit, USA. He studied at McGill University in Montréal, Canada and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam where he specialized in pianoforte and harpsichord performance. His key mentors have included Olga Pashchenko, Elizaveta Miller, Ilya Poletaev, and Arjan Tien. While in Montréal, he was regularly conducting orchestral and operatic productions. Notably, he served as music director for Purcell: Dido & Aeneas (Ensemble Bonaventure, 2022), Thomas Linley Jr: The Tempest (Ensemble Bonaventure 2023), Rousseau: Le Devin du Village (Festival Montréal Baroque, 2023) and assistant conductor for Massenet: Cendrillon (Opéra McGill, 2024). He has also performed with Ensemble Caprice, Les Goûts Réunis, Orchestre Nouvelle Génération, Pronto Musica, and has appeared as a soloist and conductor with Les Temps Perdus.
Since moving to the Netherlands, he has been invited to guest conduct the Sweelinck Baroque Orchestra, and is now the founder and artistic director of Orchestra Lagrandt. Plansker is also in demand as a ballet pianist and frequently collaborates with the European School of Ballet and the Dutch National Balletacademie.
