Marin Alsop Is Appointed Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra

(January 2024) — MacArthur award winner Marin Alsop has been appointed as Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra for a three-year term beginning in the 2024–25 season. In this new role, she will lead the orchestra in multiple subscription concerts, special events, annual summer residencies, and national and international tours, starting with a tour of China in 2024.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music and Artistic Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, says:

“Marin Alsop is a renowned and revolutionary figure in the world of classical music, and one of the foremost conductors of our time. A torchbearer, she inspires generations of young conductors to pursue their dreams. She has always had a clear and insightful vision of the role of orchestras in our society, and I know she will be a tremendous partner as we continue to forge a bold and inclusive future for The Philadelphia Orchestra. I look forward to experiencing her innovative and inspiring approach with this legendary ensemble of musicians.”

Alsop responds:

“Working with the incredible musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra has always been a musical highlight for me. Having the opportunity now to build on that relationship, and join the spectacular artistic team headed by visionary conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is a dream come true. The Philadelphia Orchestra is committed to changing the future of classical music. I am proud to join this exceptional organization.”

Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, comments:

“We are fervent believers in the transformative power of music to bring joy, create community and effect change – sentiments shared and exemplified by Marin Alsop throughout her career. I am delighted to see these possibilities unfold as she partners with the extraordinary musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra.”

Alsop enjoys a long history with The Philadelphia Orchestra, having led 32 concerts with the ensemble since their first appearance together in 1990. As well as subscription concerts in Philadelphia, both at the Academy of Music and at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, she has conducted the orchestra at all three of its summer homes: the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia; Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Vail, CO; and Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY. She and the orchestra have performed a wide range of repertoire together, from such great Romantic symphonies as Brahms’s First, Dvořák’s Ninth and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, to 20th- and 21st-century works by John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon and Missy Mazzoli. Alsop’s Philadelphia Orchestra performances have featured some of classical music’s biggest names, including Joshua Bell, Angel Blue, Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, Itzhak Perlman and Gil Shaham.

In recent years, Alsop has conducted The Philadelphia Orchestra at several major events. Last season, she stepped in for Nézet-Séguin to conduct “a viscerally thrilling performance” (Financial Times) of The Rite of Spring at Carnegie Hall, before leading the orchestra’s second annual Pride Concert, a celebratory evening of works by LGBTQ+ composers and allies. In 2020, she led acclaimed performances of highlights from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess that were recorded for release by Pentatone Records. The previous year, she joined Itzhak Perlman and the orchestra for excerpts from John Williams’s iconic film scores and music from Casablanca, Out of Africa, Cinema Paradiso and others.

Before taking up her new Philadelphia appointment, Alsop makes her company debut at the Metropolitan Opera, leading John Adams’s El Niño in a fully staged new production starring Julia Bullock and Davóne Tines. Other 2024 highlights include a new production of Bernstein’s Candide with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, further performances with the Polish National Radio Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestra, and guest conducting returns to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hamburg’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

About Marin Alsop

Convinced that music has the power to change lives, Marin Alsop is internationally recognized for her innovative approach to programming and audience development, her deep commitment to education, and her championing of music’s importance in the world. The first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria and Britain, she is now in her fifth season as Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, her first as Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony and her first as Principal Guest Conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. She also holds positions as Chief Conductor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Residency, of the Ravinia Festival, where she curates and conducts the CSO’s annual summer residency; as the first Music Director of the University of Maryland’s National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F); as Conductor of Honour of Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP); and as Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which she continues to conduct each season after an outstanding 14-year tenure as its Music Director.

The first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, Alsop has also been honored with the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, and she made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. To promote and nurture the careers of her fellow female conductors, she founded the program now named the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in 2002. The Conductor, a documentary about her life, debuted at New York’s 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and has subsequently been broadcast on PBS television, screened at festivals and theaters nationwide, and recognized with the Naples International Film Festival’s 2021 Focus on the Arts Award.

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© 21C Media Group, January 2024