Kwamé Ryan will take on the role starting from the 2024/25 season under an initial four-year contract.
He will join the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra as its 12th music director, succeeding Christopher Warren-Green, who completed a 12-year tenure.
Before assuming his new position, Ryan will serve as the music director designate for CSO throughout the remainder of the 2023/24 season and will present two performances with the orchestra in April 2024.
Ryan made his CSO debut in January 2023, conducting the ensemble in Copland’s Symphony No. 3, John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine, and Korngold’s Violin Concerto featuring VC Artist Bella Hristova.
Born in Canada and raised on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Ryan studied musicology at Cambridge University and trained in conducting with the renowned composer and conductor Peter Eötvös.
From 1999 to 2003, Ryan served as the general music director of the Freiburg Opera, and as the musical and artistic director of the National Orchestra of Bordeaux Aquitaine from 2007 to 2013.
Ryan has led performances with various orchestras, including the Boston Lyric Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Houston Symphony Orchestras.
As a guest conductor, he has led the Stuttgart and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, Saarbrücken Staatsoper, Stuttgart Staatsoper, and collaborated with the BBC Proms, Brussels’s Theatre La Monnaie, Opera Bastille, Opéra National de Lyon, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
In the fall of 2023, Ryan conducted the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence at the Houston Grand Opera, and he also made his debut with the New York Philharmonic.
Previously, he served as the musical director of the National Youth Orchestra of France and as the director of the Academy for the Performing Arts at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ryan was unanimously selected by the music director search committee, which included CSO musicians, staff, and board members.
CSO’s president and CEO David Fisk expressed confidence in Ryan's qualities, stating, “Having witnessed his artistry and extraordinary musicianship in action with the Charlotte Symphony during his recent appearances, I am confident that Kwamé Ryan embodies all of the qualities essential for an exceptional Music Director.”
Ryan, in turn, shared his excitement, saying, “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.”
CSO musicians and search committee co-leaders Jeffrey Ferdon and Benjamin Geller noted, “From the outset, there was an incredible chemistry between Kwamé Ryan and the musicians which created an atmosphere of collaboration and inspiration.”
CSO board chair Linda McFarland Farthing added, “Kwamé’s incredible talent and passion promises an exciting future for our orchestra and greater community.”
Founded in 1932, the CSO comprises 65 professional full-time orchestra musicians and fosters three youth orchestras. The orchestra connects with over 130,000 audience members annually through its concerts, broadcasts, community events, and educational programs.
