Jérôme Kuhn will join the BBC Concert Orchestra as Associate Conductor from January 2026 for an initial three-year term. Having collaborated with the orchestra on acclaimed recordings of operas by Richard Harvey and Gerald Barry, Kuhn will work closely with Director Matthew Swann across recordings, tours and Friday Night is Music Night concerts. A noted champion of contemporary opera, Kuhn is Artistic Director of Nouvel Opéra Fribourg and the Prague Symphonic Ensemble, and has conducted premieres of works by Thomas Adès, Gerald Barry and David Buckley. He makes his Friday Night is Music Night debut in Chichester in January 2026, before joining the orchestra for the Multitudes Festival at London’s Southbank Centre in April 2026.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has extended Music Director Jonathon Heyward’s contract until the end of the 2030–31 season, cementing his transformative leadership of the ensemble. Since his historic 2022 appointment, when he became the first Black and youngest music director in the BSO’s 108-year history, Heyward has revitalised the orchestra’s artistic profile and deepened its community reach, driving record audience growth and new educational initiatives. His renewed term follows landmark projects including Symphony in the City, collaborations with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and expanded youth programmes. Heyward will also personally contribute $125,000 over six years to support the orchestra’s educational and talent development work.
The China NCPA Orchestra has named Xian Zhang as its new Principal Guest Conductor from the 2025–26 season, deepening a decade-long collaboration between the conductor and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Currently Music Director of the New Jersey and Seattle symphonies, Zhang brings her dynamic artistry and international experience to the role, appearing in at least two programmes per season alongside Music Director Lü Jia. Her first performances will feature violin concertos by Prokofiev and Bruch with Tianwa Yang, while a second will pair Ravel and Qigang Chen piano concertos with Haochen Zhang, alongside Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2.
Ilan Volkov has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2026 to 29. Renowned for his fearless programming and boundary-pushing projects, Volkov will bring a distinctive spirit of exploration to the CBSO, combining fresh perspectives on symphonic classics with bold contemporary work. The appointment forms part of a wider expansion of the CBSO’s artistic leadership, alongside pianist Alice Sara Ott and saxophonist Jess Gillam as Collaborative Artists from 2026–28, and Music Director Kazuki Yamada, whose tenure has been extended through the 2028–29 season. Together with Associate Artist Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Collaborative Artist Rushil Ranjan (2025–27), their combined artistry, ambition and reach will help the CBSO to be more adventurous and inclusive.
Maxime Pascal and Michele Spotti have been appointed Principal Guest Conductors of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from the 2026–27 season, joining Titus Engel as Conductor-in-Residence in a team-based approach following Sir Donald Runnicles’ departure. Pascal and Spotti will each lead at least two productions and a symphonic concert per season, while Engel will also oversee world premieres and innovative projects, helping to shape the orchestra’s artistic direction under incoming Artistic Director Aviel Cahn in 2026. During the initial years of Cahn’s tenure, the opera will forego a new General Music Director, instead sharing musical leadership among this team of conductors.
Bo Wang has been appointed Guest Associate Chorus Director of the London Philharmonic Choir for the 2025–26 season, the first to hold this role since the choir’s founding in 1947. Wang will assist Chorus Director Madeleine Venner in preparing performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, including Zou Ye’s Kukai Symphony and the UK premiere of Tan Dun’s Nine. He is also Artistic Director of the London Chinese Philharmonic Choir.
Alexander Shelley has been appointed Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland for an initial three-season term from September 2026, assuming the role of Principal Conductor Designate with immediate effect. He also begins a five-year tenure as Artistic and Music Director of Pacific Symphony. Currently Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of Artis—Naples, Shelley concludes his Music Directorship of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra this season.
David Danzmayr has extended his tenure as Music Director of the Oregon Symphony until the end of the 2028–29 season. Since joining, he has strengthened the orchestra’s sound and championed both classic repertoire and new works. Highlights of the 2025–26 season include commissions by David Schiff and Caleb Pakela, and performances with soloists Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Colin Currie, Christine Goerke and Storm Large.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has extended Andreas Delfs’ contract as Music Director until the end of the 2028–29 season. Appointed in 2021, Delfs has revitalised both the orchestra and its community engagement, spearheading initiatives such as the five-season commissioning project Voices of Today, education programmes in local schools, and a sold-out Sunday Matinee series at Nazareth University, while helping the RPO raise over $40 million towards its $50 million comprehensive capital campaign.
Jenny Wong will continue as Chorus Director of the San Francisco Symphony until the end of the 2028–29 season. Joining the ensemble in 2023 as its fourth chorus director, she leads the 160-member chorus in concerts, prepares them for orchestral collaborations, and oversees auditions and recruitment. Wong also conducts the annual Chorus Concert and has prepared the chorus for Grammy-winning recordings and performances under Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Gregory Batsleer has extended his contract as Chorus Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra until August 2028. Since joining in 2009, Batsleer has strengthened the chorus’s reputation for expressiveness and excellence, overseen the expansion of the Young Singers’ Programme, led performances of newly commissioned works, and guided appearances at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, and regular radio broadcasts.
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra will welcome Andrés Orozco-Estrada as its next Music Director in autumn 2026. A frequent guest with the ensemble, he brings extensive international experience, combining musical brilliance, warmth and a commitment to making orchestral music accessible to all. His first project as music director will be at the 2026 Baltic Sea Festival, conducting the Swedish premiere of a new work by Anders Hillborg.
Australian conductor Simone Young has extended her tenure as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra until 2029. Having served as Chief Conductor since 2022, following her appointment as Chief Conductor Designate in 2020, Young has transformed the orchestra with her visionary programming and artistry, including the acclaimed Ring Cycle presentations. Young, an esteemed interpreter of Wagner and Strauss, has also held leadership roles with the Hamburg State Opera and Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, and maintains an active international career across Europe, the US and Australia.
Finnish conductor and violinist Pekka Kuusisto has been named Chief Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (TMS), beginning in April 2028 for an initial three-year term. Before taking up the position, he will serve as Artist-in-Residence from April 2026, performing both as conductor and violinist. Renowned for his inventive musicianship, Kuusisto also holds positions with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony, and now deepens his connection with the TMSO following acclaimed collaborations since 2024.
