Kent Nagano. Photo by Nicolas Ruel

BERKELEY — Internationally acclaimed, Grammy-winning conductor Kent Nagano will make his final appearance as music director of the Berkeley Symphony on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.

Mozart’s final symphony (No. 41, “Jupiter”) and Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony bring to a close one of classical music’s most remarkable tenures. For 30 years, California-born Nagano has led orchestras across Europe and North America, yet he always remained committed to the unique orchestra that gave him his start.

Also on the program is a fanfare written to commemorate the occasion by Kurt Rohde, a 2008 Rome Prize winner and San Francisco resident. “Bis Bald” (German for “bye for now” or “see you soon”) was commissioned by the symphony’s board of directors.

A post-concert celebration for all attendees will be held in the Zellerbach lobby.

Since accepting his first permanent conducting job in 1978 with the Berkeley Symphony, then known as the Berkeley Promenade‚ Nagano has gone on to become one of the most in-demand conductors internationally.

His 30th anniversary season concludes this May with him conducting two concerts by the new Berkeley Akademie Ensemble, a program of the Berkeley Symphony. Nagano assumes the title of conductor laureate at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season.

Tickets: $60, $40 or $20 for students. Four-concert introductory subscriptions are $80. Call (510) 841-2800 or visit www.berkeleysymphony.org.

An International Reputation

In his 30 years with the Berkeley Symphony, Nagano has established an international reputation as a gifted interpreter of both the operatic and symphonic repertoire. In 1984, Olivier Messiaen selected the 34-year-old Nagano to assist Seiji Ozawa in premiering his opera, “Saint Francois d’Assise,” launching Nagano’s international stature.

Nagano’s career has been distinguished by his serving as music Director for both major world symphonies and major world opera companies. From 1988 to 1998 he was music director of the Opera National de Lyon, where he commissioned his first opera and recorded his first CDs.

From 1991 to 2001 he was also music director of the Halle Orchestra in Manchester, England. Nagano premiered two John Adams operas, “The Death of Klinghoffer” in Brussels, and “El Niño” in Paris.

From 2000 to 2006, he was artistic director and principal conductor of the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin and principal conductor of the Los Angeles Opera. During that time he began his regular appearances in Salzburg, one of the world‘s oldest music festivals, where he developed a reputation for reviving lost or forgotten works of major composers.

Messiaen’s extraordinarily long “Saint Francois d’Assise” was recorded on four CDs. Nagano won the 2000 Grammy for Busoni’s neglected “Doktor Faust.”

Since 2006 he has been music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. His fluency in four languages — English, French, German and Italian — facilitates his work throughout Europe.

In Berkeley, Nagano has a core of committed musicians, both professional and community players, who have been trained by and grown up with him. He values his long relationship with them.

On Jan. 19, 2007, Nagano announced that he would be stepping down as music director in 2009, at the end of his 30th anniversary season.

He will continue his intimate ties with the Berkeley Symphony as conductor laureate and artistic director of Berkeley Akademie Ensemble.

Nagano was born in 1951 to Nisei parents in Berkeley and grew up on a farm in Morro Bay. Both his grandparents and his parents were interned during World War II. Neighbors looked after their farm during their internment and returned the farm to them upon their release. His father resumed practicing architecture.

By the age of 4, Nagano was playing piano. When he reached high school he was proficient on the clarinet and viola. During his youth he became an avid surfer and driver of performance cars, interests that he continues to enjoy.

At UC Santa Cruz, he earned his BA in music and sociology. He completed his Masters in Music at San Francisco State. He broadened and developed his unusual proficiency for both instrumental and choral orchestral music when he sang for a year in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.

Nagano is married to Mari Kodama, a professional concert pianist. They have a 9-year-old daughter. They have homes in San Francisco, Montreal and Paris.