Roderick Cox Named Minnesota Orchestra Associate Conductor

Roderick Cox, who was appointed the Minnesota Orchestra's assistant conductor in June 2015, has been named associate conductor for the 2016-17 season, the Orchestra announced today.

As associate conductor, Mr. Cox will make his classical subscription debut in three concerts January 19 to 21, 2017, leading Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, the latter with pianist Joyce Yang. He will also continue to lead a variety of Orchestra concerts including Young People's Concerts, Symphonic Adventures programs in area high schools and outdoor summer performances, as well as serving as cover (or understudy) conductor for many of the Orchestra's Classical and Live at Orchestra Hall concert performances. The associate conductor additionally serves as a link to the community, participating in engagement activities, school visits and collaborations with other Minnesota arts and cultural institutions.

"We're proud to work with Roderick at this important stage of his career," said Director of Artistic Planning Kari Marshall. "This position offers a full immersion in the life of the Orchestra-from participating in touring and recording activity to daily rehearsals, concerts and educational performances. We're now particularly looking forward to his January concerts when he'll have the opportunity to make his classical season debut conducting Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony."

The previous season offered many significant firsts for Mr. Cox, who is 29. He made debuts with the Detroit Symphony, National Symphony and Florida Orchestra, and was selected by the League of American Orchestras as one of five conductors presented at the 2016 Bruno Walter National Conducting Preview, a prestigious showcase for young conductors from around the country.

Mr. Cox says, "The Minnesota Orchestra has become my second home. In just a short time I've grown immensely as a musician and conductor. I've had great enjoyment working with the phenomenal musicians, devoted staff and passionate music director in Osmo Vänskä. I very much look forward to continuing our partnership as well as forming more relationships throughout the community."

Profile: Roderick Cox

A native of Macon, Georgia, Roderick Cox served for two years as the music director of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and as the assistant conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, where he led the symphony in new works by contemporary composers Gabriel Kahane, Andrew Norman and Henry Panion. He has held fellowships with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Chautauqua Music Festival, and in 2013 was awarded the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize from the Aspen Music Festival, which led to a return to the festival as a fellow. During the 2016-17 season, Mr. Cox will make debut appearances with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Colour of Music Festival and will lead concerts in Washington D.C. for the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History.

Mr. Cox earned a master of music degree in conducting from Northwestern University in Illinois, where he studied with Mallory Thompson and Victor Yampolsky, and a bachelor of music degree from Columbus State University-Schwob School of Music. He was selected by Marin Alsop to attend the Conductors Guild Conductor/Composer Training Workshop at the Cabrillo Festival. For more information: roderickcox.com orminnesotaorchestra.org.

Minnesota Orchestra

Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra is recognized as one of America's leading orchestras. Founded in 1903, it performs nearly 160 concerts each year, with 300,000 attending, and reaches more than 85,000 music lovers annually through its education and engagement programs. It is heard widely through award-winning recordings-including a Sibelius album that won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance-as well as via an acclaimed series of weekly radio broadcasts produced by Minnesota Public Radio. The Orchestra makes its home at the acoustically brilliant Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis. For more information:minnesotaorchestra.org.

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