This winter/spring, Anthony Parnther conducts world premieres in Houston, Indianapolis, & Honolulu; returns to Buffalo Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, & Lyric Opera of Chicago; & more

(January 2026) — “A conductor for the future” with “a flourishing career” (The New York Times), Anthony Parnther leads the world premieres of new commissions with both Houston’s ROCO (Feb 7) and the Indianapolis Symphony (March 12–14), before conducting the first complete performance of Michael-Thomas Foumai’s choral symphony Raise Hawaiki in a special anniversary concert with the Hawaii Symphony (April 19). Bookending these premieres are Parnther’s returns to the Buffalo Philharmonic (Jan 24 & 25) and the Cincinnati Symphony, where he joins Julia Bullock, Alfred Walker, and multiple choirs for the Cincinnati May Festival finale (May 24). The conductor also helms concerts at Lyric Opera of Chicago (April 10 & 11) and with the St. Louis Symphony (Feb 15; May 1–3), Calgary Philharmonic (May 15 & 16), and Charlotte Symphony (June 5 & 6), as well as conducting a semi-staged, livestreamed presentation of Judith Weir’s first opera, and more, as the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist (Feb 11 & 12; Feb 24).

Parnther’s upcoming engagements follow a series of high-profile fall and early winter collaborations. Drawing near-capacity audiences to Princeton and more than 1,300 concertgoers to Newark, his seasonal accounts of Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony “showed the NJ Symphony at its best.” As New Jersey put it: “Parnther and the musicians dug in deep and made the period music throb with friction and fury.” Next, as “one of today’s foremost film conductors,” Parnther joined The Philadelphia Orchestra for a festive New Year’s Eve concert showcasing “his soaring readings of hit movie scores” (The Philadelphia Tribune), before kicking off the new year with the Baltimore Symphony. Their exploration of the influence of jazz and blues on the American sound concluded with Florence Price’s Third Symphony, in the world premiere performances of Parnther’s own new critical edition of the score. As the Washington Classical Review reported:

“The BSO brass played with smoldering power. … Parnther moved the concluding Scherzo at a fairly fast pace, skillfully building the orchestral climaxes of this relatively short movement. Other orchestras would do well to give the new edition of this neglected symphony a shot.”

World premieres in Houston, Indianapolis, and Honolulu

Dedicated to expanding and diversifying the orchestral literature, Parnther brings three new works to life over the months ahead. First up is America 250, written by Patricia Leonard, winner of the Virginia B. Toulmin Prize, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Parnther’s world premiere performance of Leonard’s new work crowns the patriotic program of Dvořák, Ellington, and Gala Flagello with which he makes his ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra) debut in Houston (Feb 7).

Next, he joins the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) for the world premiere of Phenomenal Queen: Coretta Scott King, a new ISO co-commission celebrating the eponymous American author, activist, and civil rights leader. Composed by American composer James Lee III, who recently completed a season-long tenure as composer-in-residence of the Baltimore Symphony, this will feature the “imaginative phrasing and warm, expressive voice” (Opera News) of soprano Angela Brown. The new commission will be heard alongside works by Brahms, Weber, and Chinese-American composer Chen Yi, represented by her viola concerto Xian shi, with Primrose Competition winner Yu Jin as soloist, on a program that concludes with Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony (March 12–14). It was in the same composer’s Fourth that Parnther previously impressed The Guardian with his “high voltage interpretation that maintained a fine balance between detail and elan,” of which “the finale was edge-of-your-seat stuff.”

This spring, the conductor returns to Honolulu’s Hawai’i Symphony for the first complete performance of Raise Hawaiki by composer-in-residence Michael-Thomas Foumai, known for his “vibrant and cinematic” music (The New York Times). Foumai’s two-part choral symphony draws inspiration from Hōkūleʻa, the replica Polynesian double-hulled canoe that made its famed maiden voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti, using exclusively traditional navigational techniques, in 1976. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this culturally significant event, Parnther and the orchestra preview excerpts from Raise Hawaiki in a family-friendly concert featuring narration, storytelling, and projected visuals (April 18), before premiering the complete work in collaboration with the Oʻahu Choral Society to the accompaniment of photos of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage and video from her most recent travels, on a program that opens with the Four Sea Interludes from Britten’s Peter Grimes (April 19).

Returns to Buffalo Philharmonic & Cincinnati Symphony

Parnther’s creative programs typically juxtapose bedrocks of the orchestral literature with new and less familiar music by women and composers of color. At New York’s Buffalo Philharmonic, he couples Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony and Fifth Violin Concerto, featuring young American violinist Aubree Oliverson, with music by two of the composer’s contemporaries. French polymath Joseph Bologne is represented by his Second Symphony and Austria’s Maria Theresia von Paradis by her sole surviving orchestral work, the Overture to The School Candidate (Jan 24 & 25).

In the final concert of this year’s Cincinnati May Festival, the Western Hemisphere’s oldest choral music festival, Parnther conducts the Cincinnati Symphony and members of the May Festival Chorus, May Festival Youth Chorus, and Classical Roots Community Choir. The program begins with selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, featuring Grammy-winning festival director Julia Bullock and two-time Beverly Sills Artist Award laureate Alfred Walker, followed by works by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Paulus, and William Grant Still, the key classical pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance, before concluding with the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah (May 24).

Weir opera & more at Cleveland Institute

Parnther is deeply committed to education and enjoys a close association with the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), where he was a member of the school’s guest faculty in 2022–23 and opened the CIM Orchestra’s season in 2024–25. He returns this winter as CIM’s Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist to conduct the ensemble in two new programs. First, in collaboration with CIM Opera Theater, they perform the pocket version of Blond Eckbert, the first opera by Dame Judith Weir, in a livestreamed concert presentation with light production elements and limited staging by director JJ Hudson (Feb 11 & 12). Next, Parnther joins the orchestra for a program pairing Shostakovich’s witty Ninth Symphony with two recent works: Diaspora: Concerto for Saxophone (2023) by Grammy-winning jazz composer Billy Childs and “Nani’ (Fish)” from Woodland Songs (2025) by Chickasaw composer and CIM alum Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (Feb 24).

Film and rock ‘n’ roll

“The quintessential L.A. musician of our day” (Los Angeles Times), Parnther is “Hollywood’s go-to conductor for epic projects” (Billboard). As one of today’s preeminent film conductors, he has helmed a host of blockbuster film scores and is regularly invited to lead high-profile live-to-film events. This spring, he returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for Mary Poppins in concert, featuring the Sherman Brothers’ Academy Award-winning score (April 10 & 11); joins the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for key moments from Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and more of Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga movies, scored by composers including Michael Giacchino (May 1–3); conducts John Williams’s iconic music for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi with Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic (May 15 & 16); and revisits Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar- and Grammy-winning Black Panther score with the Charlotte Symphony (June 5 & 6).

A master of multiple genres, Parnther also conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and vocalists Tamika Lawrence, Shaleah Adkisson, and Scott Coulter in a special tribute to the late “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Tina Turner (Feb 15). At a similar celebration of Chuck Berry this past fall, Parnther “led the SLSO with authority and humor, … steer[ing] the orchestra with a mix of precision and swing, constantly adjusting to the band’s pulse” (St. Louis Arts Scene).

Anthony Parnther: upcoming engagements

Jan 24 & 25
Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Mozart Festival
BOLOGNE: Symphony No. 2
MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 5 (with Aubree Oliverson, violin)
VON PARADIS: Overture to The School Candidate
MOZART: Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”

Feb 7
Houston, TX
ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra) (debut)
DVOŘÁK (arr. Jason STEPHENS): Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (rescored; U.S. premiere of ROCO commission)
ELLINGTON: New World A-Comin’
Gala FLAGELLO: Droughts and Downpours for strings
Patricia LEONARD: America 250 (world premiere of ROCO commission)

Feb 11 & 12
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Institute of Music
CIM Orchestra
CIM Opera Theater
Judith WEIR: Blond Eckbert (pocket version; 2006)

Feb 15
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
“Eternal”: A Tribute to Tina Turner (with Tamika Lawrence, Shaleah Adkisson, and Scott Coulter, vocals)

Feb 24
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Institute of Music
CIM Orchestra
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ TATE (MM ’00): “Nani’ (Fish)” from Woodland Songs (2025; with Davis Fischer, baritone)
Billy CHILDS: Diaspora: Concerto for Saxophone (2023; with Steven Banks, saxophone)
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 9

March 12–14
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
WEBER: Euryanthe Overture
James LEE III: Phenomenal Queen: Coretta Scott King (world premiere of Indianapolis Symphony co-commission; with Angela Brown, soprano) [except March 12] CHEN YI: Xian shi (with Yu Jin, viola)
BRAHMS (arr. NORMAN): Geistliches Wiegenlied (with Angela Brown, soprano) [except March 12] BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 8

April 10 & 11
Chicago, IL
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera Orchestra
SHERMAN BROTHERS: Mary Poppins in concert, live to film

April 18 & 19
Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra
   April 18:
Michael-Thomas FOUMAI: Selections from Raise Hawaiki
   April 19:
BRITTEN: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Michael-Thomas FOUMAI: Raise Hawaiki, Part 1 (world premiere)
Michael-Thomas FOUMAI: Raise Hawaiki, Part 2 (world premiere)

May 1–3
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
VARIOUS: Marvel Infinity Saga in concert, live to film

May 15 & 16
Calgary, Canada
Calgary Philharmonic
John WILLIAMS: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in concert, live to film

May 24
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati May Festival (finale)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
May Festival Chorus
May Festival Youth Chorus
Classical Roots Community Choir
GERSHWIN: Selections from Porgy and Bess
STILL: Plain-Chant for America
PAULUS: “In Beauty It Walks” and “Eternity” from Prayers & Remembrances
BERNSTEIN “Make our Garden Grow” from Candide
HANDEL: “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah
(With Julia Bullock, soprano and festival director; Alfred Walker, bass-baritone)

June 5 & 6
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Symphony
Ludwig GÖRANSSON: Black Panther in concert, live to film