Bernard Johan Herman Haitink was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to London, as principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1967 to 1979, music director at Glyndebourne Opera from 1978 to 1988 and of the Royal Opera House from 1987 to 2002, when he became principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. Finally, he was principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010. The focus of his prolific recording was classical symphonies and orchestral works, but he also conducted operas. He conducted 90 concerts at The Proms in London, the last on 3 September 2019 with the Vienna Philharmonic. His awards include Grammy Awards and the 2015 Gramophone Award for his lifetime achievements.
The Spokane Symphony is a 70-piece professional orchestra based in Spokane, Washington that performs more than 65 concerts per year for more than 150,000 listeners. It was originally incorporated in 1945 as the Spokane Philharmonic before being renamed the Spokane Symphony in 1962.
Andrew Litton is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School.
The South Carolina Philharmonic is an orchestra based in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Performances are held at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia. The current concertmaster is Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian. The orchestra was founded in 1963.
Chosei Komatsu is a Japanese conductor who, from 2003-2010, was Artistic Director of Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Also, after five years as Music Director of Japan’s Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, he assumed the title of Conductor Laureate.
Toshiyuki Shimada is a Japanese-born American orchestral conductor. He is Music Director of both the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London, CT; the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, NY; and the New Britain Symphony Orchestra. He had been Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra of Yale University from 2005 to 2019, and currently he is Director of Orchestral Activity at the Connecticut College. He is also Music Director Laureate of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, in Portland, Maine, of which he was Music Director from 1986 to 2006. Prior to Portland, he was Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra for six years, beginning in 1981. He also serves as Principal Conductor of the Vienna Modern Masters, in Austria since 1998.
Daniel Hege is an American orchestral conductor. He is currently the music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Binghamton Philharmonic, and is the principal guest conductor of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. Hege previously served as the music director of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He also makes numerous guest appearances with orchestras and music festivals across the country.
Daniel Meyer was born in Cleveland, Ohio and has been conductor and musical director of several prominent American orchestras.
Diane Wittry is an American musical conductor and composer. Since 1995, she has served as the music director and conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and, since 2018, she has been the music director and conductor of the Garden State Philharmonic (GSP) in Toms River, New Jersey.
David Alan Miller is a multi-Grammy Award-winning American symphony orchestra conductor, and since 1992, music director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Miller served as assistant and associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1987–92 and music director of the New York Youth Symphony from 1982-88. He is currently also Artistic Advisor to both the Sarasota Orchestra and to The Little Orchestra Society in New York City.
James Lowe is an orchestra conductor and current Music Director of the Spokane Symphony in Spokane, WA, beginning in the 2019–2020 season. He assumed his role of Chief Conductor of the Prussian Chamber Orchestra for the 2015/16 season. His work as Artistic Director of the Hallé Harmony Youth Orchestra was featured in a four-part documentary shown in the UK on Channel 4 in 2010. A recipient of the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent, Lowe is Principal Conductor of the Edinburgh Contemporary Music Ensemble, Principal Guest Conductor of Music for Everyone, Orchestras Advisor and conductor of the Senior Orchestra of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and held the position of Associate Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Lowe is also Artistic Advisor of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, with whom he began his orchestral career.
John Morris Russell, also known as JMR, is an American orchestral conductor best known for his association with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife.
André Raphel is an American conductor. He is Conductor Laureate of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, having served as Music Director from 2003-2018.
Keitaro Harada is a Japanese conductor and music and artistic director of Savannah Philharmonic, Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Partner for the Aichi Chamber Orchestra. In May 2024 he was announced as the incoming Music and Artistic Director Designate for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Harada is a former Associate Conductor of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Arizona Opera, Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra. He has been Music Director & Conductor of the Phoenix Youth Symphony, Assistant Conductor of Macon Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, he was featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview by the League of American Orchestras. In 2023, he received The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award from the Solti Foundation U.S. On May 30, 2024, Harada was announced as the new Music and Artistic Director Designate for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in Dayton, Ohio beginning with the 2024-2025 season, officially taking the helm as the orchestra's new leader beginning July 1, 2025.
Olivier Fabrice Ochanine is a French conductor and flutist; he is founding music director and Principal Conductor of the Sun Symphony Orchestra of Hanoi, Vietnam and the former Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), the national orchestra of the Philippines.
Thomas Alphonso Wilkins is an American orchestra conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Artistic Advisor, Education and Community Engagement of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony.
Keith Alan Lockhart is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
Lawrence Golan is an American orchestral conductor and violinist. He is the Music Director of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra in Colorado, the Yakima Symphony Orchestra in Washington state, the York Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania, and the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at the University of Denver where he is director of orchestral studies and professor of conducting at the Lamont School of Music.
Kenneth Kiesler is an American symphony orchestra and opera conductor and mentor to conductors. Kiesler is conductor laureate of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra where he was music director from 1980 to 2000 and founder and director of the Conductors Retreat at Medomak. In 2014, Kiesler was nominated for a Grammy Award for his recording of Darius Milhaud's opera L'Orestie d'Eschyle. He is director of orchestras and professor of conducting at the University of Michigan.
Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.
