Conductor Christian Reif Announces 2026-2027 Season

Conducts Six Programs with Sweden’s Gavle Symphony Orchestra,
Including Season Opener and Finale, in Fourth Season as Chief Conductor

Music Director Designate of Wuppertal Opera & Symphony Orchestra

Guest Conducting Engagements Include Debuts with the
Rhode Island Philharmonic, Rice University Shepherd School of Music,
Sarasota Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra,
and Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra

Returns to San Francisco Symphony, KBS Symphony Orchestra, and
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

Featured Soloists Include Joshua Bell,
Arabella Steinbacher, Sterling Elliott, and more

Summer 2026 Return as Music Director of the Lakes Area Music Festival

“No doubt about it, Reif is a remarkable talent.” – San Francisco Chronicle

“Reif matched a fluid grace with an architectural sensibility, offering a detail-oriented performance with especially pleasing lightness and clarity… an arresting force from the podium… In Reif, the orchestra would get a showman, but, as this brief encounter also revealed, a conductor who contains multitudes – who can dance many dances at once.” – The Washington Post

“Conductor Christian Reif’s leadership was both insightful and galvanizing.”
– Cincinnati Business Journal

www.christianreif.eu

New York, NY (August 27, 2026) – Called “an arresting force from the podium” (The Washington Post) and described as “a rare pleasure to watch” (Merker), German conductor Christian Reif has established a reputation for his natural musicality, innovative programming, and technical command. In 2026-2027, Reif takes on his fourth season as Chief Conductor of the Gavle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, where he recently secured a contract extension to continue in the role through the 2027-2028 season. He also returned in summer 2026 as Music Director of the Lakes Area Music Festival in Minnesota, and serves this season as Music Director Designate of the Wuppertal Opera & Symphony Orchestra, where he conducts a special “360-degree” concert experience merging audience and orchestra in March 2027. During this season’s Gavle schedule, Reif leads a string of concerts combining core classical repertoire with works by 20th and 21st century composers including John Adams and Swedish notables Tobias Broström and Karin Rehnqvist. In guest engagements across the United States and Europe, he makes debuts with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Sarasota Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, and Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, plus returns to the San Francisco Symphony, KBS Symphony Orchestra and Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. The season’s concerts feature solo appearances by Joshua Bell, Arabella Steinbacher, Sterling Elliott, and more.

In the run-up to the new season, Reif returned in his role as Music Director to the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN, conducting four of the festival’s programs including a fully staged production of Bizet’s Carmen on Friday, August 14, and Sunday, August 16, 2026, featuring soprano Julia Bullock in the title role. Also leading three of the festival’s orchestral concerts, he appeared for Brahms & the Schumanns on Sunday, August 2, 2026; Haydn’s Passion Symphony on Wednesday, August 19, 2026; and Dances of Passion – featuring works by Debussy, Stravinsky, and Carlos Simon – on Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23, 2026.

In the Gavle Symphony Orchestra’s season-opening concert on September 4, 2026, Reif conducts a program featuring soloist Arabella Steinbacher on Barber’s Violin Concerto, performed along with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and Tobias Broström’s Beatnik, the contemporary Swedish composer’s homage to the expression and attitude of the “Beat” Generation in 20th century culture, conjuring a sound world of pulse, nerve, and rhythmic energy.

Reif next returns to Gavle on Thursday, November 12, 2026, as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performs as soloist on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan"). The program also includes Stravinsky's Symphony in C and Karin Rehnqvist’s Breaking the Ice (from Arktis Arktis!) – a work that builds its evocative soundworld from the organic tones of ice cracking and shifting in the frozen North.

In his first Gavle concert of the new year on Thursday, January 21, 2027, Reif conducts the orchestra in two works by Dvorák: his symphonic poem Heldenlied and his Violin Concerto featuring soloist Karen Gomyo. The program also includes John Adams’ The Chairman Dances, a driving, jazz-inflected work inspired by elements from Adams’ opera Nixon in China.

He returns on Thursday, March 25, 2027 for a concert reflecting the multiple facets of Romanticism through a program comprising Weber’s Overture to Oberon, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish"), and Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Anastasia Kobekina features as soloist.

On Thursday, April 22, 2027, Reif conducts the Gavle Symphony Orchestra’s Artist in Focus, cello soloist, Nicolas Altstaedt, in a selection of works prized for their evocative storytelling. The program comprises Dvorák’s symphonic poem The Wood Dove, Puccini’s early work Capriccio Sinfonico, and Rózsa’s Cello Concerto.

Leading the Gavle Symphony Orchestra’s season finale concert on Friday, May 28, 2027, Reif conducts a program pairing two works by Beethoven – his Leonore Overture No. 3 and Symphony No. 2 – along with Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No. 2, among the "rediscovered" works enjoying new appreciation amid a wave of renewed interest in the 19th-century French composer.

In an introduction to his role with the Wuppertal Opera & Symphony Orchestra, where he begins his tenure as Music Director in 2027-2028, Reif appears on March 27, 2027 for a special "Sinfonieorchester Hautnah" (“Orchestra Up-Close”) concert, wherein the 82 musicians of the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra spread out among the audience in the stalls of the orchestra’s historic Stadthalle. With open seating, visitors are invited to sit directly amongst the artists and their instruments, taking in a “360-degree” experience of the program.

To begin his season of guest engagements, Reif makes his debut at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music in Houston, conducting performances of Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos on Friday, October 30 and Sunday, November 1, 2026. Reif will also lead a pre-performance talk starting one hour before curtain time on both dates.

On Friday, November 20, and Saturday, November 21, 2026, he makes his Rhode Island Philharmonic debut, leading the orchestra in a program of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Ravel’s La Valse, Dvorák’s The Wood Dove, and Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, featuring soloist Estefan Iatcekiw.

Returning to the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra on Friday, December 11, 2026, Reif conducts a concert featuring soloist Edgar Moreau on Dvorák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, paired on this program with Dvorák’s A Hero's Song and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39.

He goes on to a return engagement with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, December 19, 2026, conducting Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 featuring Minsoo Sohn.

His European schedule continues with his debut at the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra on Friday, February 12, 2027, where he conducts a program of Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto in A-flat Major, featuring soloist Simon Höfele, and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

On Thursday, February 25, 2027, he debuts with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting a program of Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto featuring Lea Birringer, and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4.

Reif returns to the United States for the remainder of his guest-conducting schedule, making his Sarasota Orchestra debut in three concerts on Friday, March 5, Saturday, March 6, and Sunday, March 7, 2027. The program features soloist Sterling Elliott on Elgar’s Cello Concerto, which will be performed along with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 and Julia Adolphe’s Underneath the Sheen, the composer’s dazzling naturalistic vision of sunlight through a forest canopy.

In his final guest engagement of the season on Tuesday, March 30, 2027, Reif returns to the San Francisco Symphony for an all-Beethoven concert featuring Joshua Bell on his Violin Concerto, paired on this program with his Symphony No. 6.

Christian Reif 2026-2027 Season Calendar

Friday, September 4, 2026
Gavle Symphony Orchestra — Säsongspremiär (Season Opening)
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/sasongspremiar/

Program:
Tobias Broström: Beatnik
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2

Arabella Steinbacher, violin

Friday, October 30 & Sunday, November 1, 2026
Rice University (Shepherd School of Music)
Morrison Theater | Houston, TX
Link: music.rice.edu/content/strausss-ariadne-auf-naxos

Program:
Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos

Thursday, November 12, 2026
Gavle Symphony Orchestra — Elvira Madigan
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/elvira-madigan/

Program:
Karin Rehnqvist: Att bryta isen (from Arktis Arktis!)
W.A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan")
Igor Stravinsky: Symphony in C

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano

Friday, November 20 & Saturday, November 21, 2026
Rhode Island Philharmonic
Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The VETS) | Providence, RI
Link: tickets.riphil.org/single-tickets

Program:
Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Antonin Dvorák: The Wood Dove
Maurice Ravel: La Valse

Estefan Iatcekiw, piano

Friday, December 11, 2026
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra
Riga Congress Hall | Riga, Latvia
Link: www.lnso.lv/en/event-list/lnso-mozart-and-dvorak/

Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 39
Antonín Dvorák: A Hero's Song
Antonín Dvorák: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra

Edgar Moreau, cello

Saturday, December 19, 2026 
KBS Symphony Orchestra
Lotte Concert Hall | Seoul, South Korea 

Program: 
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
Antonin Dvorák: Symphony No. 9

Minsoo Sohn, piano

Thursday, January 21, 2027

Gavle Symphony Orchestra — Gomyo och Dvorák
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/gomyo-dvorak/

Program:
Antonín Dvorák: Violin Concerto
John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Antonín Dvorák: Heldenlied, symphonic poem

Karen Gomyo, violin

Friday, February 12, 2027
Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra
LVSO Concert Hall | Vilnius, Lithuania

Program:
Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Arutiunian – Trumpet Concerto in A-flat Major
Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Simon Höfele, trumpet

Thursday, February 25, 2027
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
Istanbul | Turkey

Program:
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Nielsen: Symphony No. 4

Lea Birringer, violin

Friday, March 5; Saturday, March 6 & Sunday, March 7, 2027
Sarasota Orchestra — Brahms & Elgar (Masterworks 6)
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall | Sarasota, FL
Link: www.sarasotaorchestra.org/subscriptions/masterworks

Program:
Julia Adolphe: Underneath the Sheen
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2

Sterling Elliott, cello

Thursday, March 25, 2027
Gavle Symphony Orchestra — Elgar’s cellokonsert
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/elgar-cellokonsert/

Program:
Carl Maria von Weber: Overture to Oberon
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish")

Anastasia Kobekina, cello

Tuesday, March 30, 2027
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall | San Francisco, CA
Link: www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2026-27/Joshua-Bell-Beethoven

Program:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6
Beethoven: Violin Concerto

Joshua Bell, violin

Thursday, April 22, 2027
Gavle Symphony Orchestra
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/altstaedt-rozsa/

Program:
Dvorák: The Wood Dove, symphonic poem
Puccini: Capriccio Sinfonico
Rózsa: Cello Concerto

Nicolas Altstaedt, cello

Friday, May 28, 2027
Gavle Symphony Orchestra — Reif och Beethoven (Season Closing / Stockholm Beethoven Festival)
Gavle Konserthus (Gevaliasalen) | Gavle, Sweden
Link: www.Gavlekonserthus.se/konserter/reif-beethoven/

Program:
Louise Farrenc: Symphony No. 2
Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

More About Christian Reif
GRAMMY® award-winning conductor Christian Reif is Music Director Designate of Wuppertal Opera & Symphony Orchestra, where he leads his inaugural season as Music Director in 2027/28. Reif holds the title of Chief Conductor of the Gavle Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, where his term has been extended for 2 years through the 2027/28 season, and has established a reputation for his natural musicality, innovative programming and technical command.

Since 2022, Reif has served as Music Director of the Lakes Area Music Festival, a month-long summer festival in Minnesota featuring the nation’s top classical performers in programming that ranges from opera and chamber music to symphonic performances along with commissioned new works. LAMF believes that high quality arts experiences should be accessible to all and operates on a name-your-price ticket model.

Highlights of Reif's 2026/27 season include performances with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra in his role as Music Director Designate, and his collaboration with star soloists such as Anastasia Kobekina and Nicolas Altstaedt in his role as Chief Conductor with the Gavle Symphony Orchestra. For their last concert of the season, he brings Gavle Symphony Orchestra to Stockholm. Reif makes his debut with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Sarasota Orchestra, and leads an opera production at Rice University in Houston. He also returns to the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.

With an equal footing in North America and Europe, Reif has conducted the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Baltimore, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Kansas City, The Florida Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Previous season highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, SWR Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Northern Sinfonia. In Europe, he has performed with Orchestre National de Lyon, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Stavanger Symphony.

Reif enjoys conducting opera and has led productions at the Music Academy of the West of Don Giovanni, Juilliard Opera of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Opera San Jose of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and the Lakes Area Music Festival of Ariadne auf Naxos, The Rake’s Progress, and Hansel and Gretel.

In 2023, Reif won a GRAMMY® for the Nonesuch Records album Walking in the Dark, the debut solo album of classical singer Julia Bullock in which he accompanied her on piano and led London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. The album was praised by Gramophone Magazine as “illuminating” and described Reif as providing “excellent support” for Bullock. In 2020 during the pandemic, Reif and Bullock recorded a series of at-home virtual “Songs of Comfort”, ranging from Carole King’s classic “Up on the Roof” to Schubert’s Wanderers Nachtlied. NPR Music featured the duo in a “Tiny Desk Concert” for their special quarantine edition of the series, and The New York Times highlighted them on their “Best Classical Music of 2020” list.

From 2016 to 2019, Reif was Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, after being the Conducting Fellow at the New World Symphony from 2014 to 2016 and at Tanglewood Music Center in 2015 and 2016. He studied conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at The Juilliard School in New York City. He resides in Munich with his wife Julia Bullock and their son.

*Photo Credit: Gavle Symphony Orchestra