Sir Donald Runnicles has been appointed as the new Chief Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. He will assume the role in 2024, holding the title of Chief Conductor Designate for the 2024/25 season before fully taking on the position in the 2025/26 season.

Currently serving as the General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (USA) since 2006, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Runnicles recently became the Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, where he served as Chief Conductor from 2009 to 2016.

Runnicles is also closely associated with the San Francisco Opera, where he was invited to be the Music Director after successfully completing two Ring cycles. He held this position from 1992 to 2009.

He holds honorary doctorates in music from the University of Edinburgh, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2004, he was awarded the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II.

"I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Sir Donald Runnicles, an internationally renowned and highly experienced chief conductor, for the Dresden Philharmonic," said Annekatrin Klepsch, the Mayor of Dresden. "He is just as much in demand at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as he is at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and many other major opera houses such as those in Vienna, Paris, Milan, and London. He stands for the highest level of artistic ability and has a firm foothold in the international music scene."