Joshua Gersen Named Assistant Conductor of New York Philharmonic for 2015-16 Season

Joshua Gersen, age 30, has been named New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor beginning in September 2015. He will assist Music Director Alan Gilbert and all guest conductors throughout the season, and will lead educational events, including Young People's Concerts and Young People's Concerts for Schools.

"I'm very pleased to welcome Joshua Gersen to the New York Philharmonic's conducting team," said Music Director Alan Gilbert. "Joshua is a terrific musician, and I look forward to working closely with him over the next years."

Courtney Lewis will continue his role as Assistant Conductor, which he began in September 2014. Case Scaglione, who was named Assistant Conductor in September 2011 and promoted to Associate Conductor in September 2014, will conclude his tenure as Associate Conductor at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Joshua Gersen, music director of the New York Youth Symphony since September 2012, has been named an Assistant Conductor at the New York Philharmonic. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller. He recently finished his tenure as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, where he served as the assistant conductor to artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas, and led the orchestra in subscription, education, and family concerts, including the orchestra's renowned PULSE concert series. Mr. Gersen made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony in the fall of 2013 and has worked with that ensemble numerous times, including filling in for Michael Tilson Thomas on part of a subscription series and leading a January 2015 program in the new SoundBox Theater. Joshua Gersen was the principal conductor of the Ojai Music Festival in 2013; has conducted the Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville symphony orchestras; and has served as a cover conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many other orchestras throughout the United States. He is a recipient of the 2010 Robert Harth Prize and 2011 Aspen Conducting Prize from the Aspen Summer Festival, where he served as assistant conductor in the summer of 2012. Mr. Gersen is also an avid composer, and his String Quartet and Fantasy for Chamber Orchestra were premiered at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. His works have also been performed by the New Mexico and Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestras as well as the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra. In 2006 Mr. Gersen finished his work at the New England Conservatory, where he received his bachelor of music degree in composition studying with Michael Gandolfi. His work as a composer has led to an nterest in conducting contemporary music; he has conducted several World Premieres of new works with the New World Symphony and New York Youth Symphony, and has collaborated with many prominent contemporary composers including John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Steven Mackey, Mason Bates, and Michael Gandolfi.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Taylor