(c) Kerem Bakir
Jan Moritz Onken is a German conductor. After completing his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, he worked as an assistant to Mariss Jansons and as a musical coach and assistant for German repertoire at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, simultaneously gaining experience as a guest-conductor, conducting a number of orchestras in different countries, performing an extensive repertoire. In September 2015, he introduced the idea of the Silk Road Symphony Orchestra in the context of the 5th BMW Foundation Global Table in Tanzania. Followed by the 1st Global Forum in Berlin, he presented his idea of the Silk Road Cultural Belt – a unique narrative for Europe – with the Silk Road Symphony Orchestra as its background. To equip these ideas with a legal background, Jan Moritz Onken became one of the founders of Callias Foundation in Berlin.