Joshua Weilerstein

In the 2019/20 season, he makes debuts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Munich Chamber Orchestra, and returns to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also led the OCL on a tour to Germany.  

During his tenure as Artistic Director of the OCL, the orchestra has thrived under Weilerstein’s leadership and cemented its reputation as one of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras. He has greatly expanded the scope of the orchestra’s repertoire, and together they have released successful and critically acclaimed recordings, and toured throughout Europe, joined by soloists such as Juan Diego Florez, Lucas Debargue, and Albrecht Mayer.

Born into a musical family, Joshua Weilerstein’s formative experience with classical music was as a violinist on tour to Panama and Guatemala with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of Boston, where the orchestra performed for thousands of young people who had never heard a live orchestra concert. This sparked a desire in Weilerstein to pursue a career in classical music. While pursuing his Master’s degree in violin and conducting at the New England Conservatory, Weilerstein won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen in 2009. He was subsequently appointed as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, where he served from 2012-2015.

Weilerstein is deeply committed to programming both traditional and contemporary repertoire and endeavours to present music from under-represented composers at each concert. He hosts a wildly successful classical music podcast called “Sticky Notes” for music lovers and newcomers alike, which has been downloaded nearly a million times in 154 countries. An advocate for easy communication between the audience and the concert stage, Weilerstein encourages discussion about all aspects of classical music, programming, and the experience of concert-going.

2019/20 season / 425 words. Not to be altered without permission.
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