Two Summer Debuts: San Francisco & Philadelphia Orchestras
Dear Friends,
It’s been an exhilarating stretch of music‑making. Buoyed by the glowing Cincinnati May Festival reviews, I now look toward two milestone debuts—San Francisco Symphony on July 23rd and the Philadelphia Orchestra this August—programs that fuse American imagination, treasured collaborators like Renée Fleming and Time for Three, and the kind of shared breath that turns sound into story. Whether you join me in the hall or cheer from afar, I’m grateful to travel this journey with you.
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
July 23, 2025
I can still feel the spark from the very first time I slipped into Davies Symphony Hall, years ago, to watch Michael Tilson Thomas sculpt sound out of thin air. I was an awestruck kid in the back row; on July 23rd I’ll stand on that same podium, score in hand, ready to write the next page of that memory.
The program? A love letter to American imagination. We launch with Mason Bates’ Silicon Hymnal, featuring my fearless friends in Time for Three. Think cathedral sonorities glowing with the neon beat of electronica—hip‑hop grooves and other‑worldly trance folded into symphonic space. From there we ascend through Christopher Theofanidis’ Rainbow Body, music that feels like a prayer in motion, and we land in Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story—the work that taught us all how rhythm, risk, and heart can live side by side.
This night isn’t just a debut; it’s a handshake between past and future, legacy and possibility. I can’t wait for you to hear it.
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
August 15, 2025
When the invitation arrived, I grinned so wide I almost swallowed the phone. The Philadelphia sound—that opulent, burnished glow—has been the stuff of legend for me since my student days. Stepping onto the stage this August, I’ll finally get to add my own breath to that legend.
Renée Fleming joins me once more for Voice of Nature, a song‑cycle that turns the concert hall into an alpine vista—wind, water, and wonder woven into every phrase. We’ll also offer A Letter from Sullivan Ballou, a Civil War farewell so tender it both breaks and mends the heart in a single sweep.
These musicians respond to the smallest flicker of a wrist, the quietest intake of breath. I haven’t used a baton in years; with an orchestra like Philadelphia’s, I don’t need one. What happens between us isn’t about precision or perfection. It’s about creating a moment so alive it feels almost improvised—a dance where every step is poetry.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey, whether in the hall or in spirit. Two stages, two extraordinary orchestras, and one conductor who still pinches himself every morning.
Photo credit: Mark Lyons
RAVE REVIEWS IN CINCINNATI
Critics Applaud My May Festival Debut
This past spring, the air inside Cincinnati’s Music Hall seemed charged with possibility. Leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra alongside the incomparable Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry in Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light (and other luminous works), I aimed for that sweet spot where clarity meets raw emotion. The Cincinnati Business Courier later wrote that my approach was marked by a “clear and intelligent conducting style” — praise that touches me more deeply than they could know.
During the Festival finale I felt the orchestra and audience breathe as one. The Courier captured that moment, noting how I “swept up the orchestra in glowing support.” For me, that glow is the whole point: sound becomes story, and story becomes shared experience.
Those May nights were a compass, pointing toward the adventures that lie ahead in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and beyond. If Cincinnati taught me anything, it’s that when music is honest, connection is inevitable — and I can’t wait to keep forging those connections with you.
🎟️ JOIN ME
These aren’t just concerts. They are invitations to share in something sacred, something live and unrepeatable. I’d love for you to be part of it.