Charlotte Symphony Names Music Director

Trinidadian conductor Kwamé Ryan is to succeed Christopher Warren-Green as music director of the Charlotte (NC) Symphony, effective as of the 2024-25 season for four years; he serves as designate for the remainder of 2023-24.

Ryan, 53, is the former general music director of Freiburg Opera and music/artistic director of the National Orchestra of Bordeaux Aquitaine. Guest engagements include the major ensembles of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Dallas, as well as London’s Philharmonia, Brussels Theatre de La Monnaie, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Opera Bastille in Paris. Earlier this fall he led the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence at Houston Grand Opera. Next Spring he debuts with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the New York Philharmonic, as well as making a return visit to Charlotte.

He made his debut with the orchestra in January 2023 and subsequently returned last month for the Verdi Requiem. “On my very first visit to Charlotte, I felt instantly connected with the dynamic energy of the city and then profoundly inspired by the wonderful musicians of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra,” he said in a statement. “Their dedication to balancing artistic innovation and preservation as a means to engage with their community resonates naturally with my own creative philosophy.”

Ryan was born in Canada and raised in Trinidad. He is the 12^th music director in the orchestra’s 90-year history. Charlotte Symphony performs several performances of 12 classical programs a season and has an annual operating budget of $12.5 million.