Ken-David Masur
(c) Ross Buckley
Following a 36-month international search, Ken-David Masur has been named the seventh Music Director and Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO). Masur is currently the associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Munich Symphony. He will begin immediately as Music Director Designate and join the MSO as Music Director for the 2019.20 season as it builds towards the much anticipated grand opening of the Milwaukee Symphony Center in fall 2020.
Through a committee composed of board members, donors and orchestra musicians, the search for the MSOs seventh Music Director was deliberate and diverse, encompassing candidates from around the globe, said Doug Hagerman, chairman of the MSOs Music Director Search Committee. Ken-David is a once-in-a-generation musician, conductor and innovator who boasts an impressive resume of accomplishments, yet is friendly and approachable. He was unanimously voted to serve as the next Music Director given his artistic brilliance and genuine passion for how the arts can unify people and communities. We are thrilled to welcome Ken-David and his family to Milwaukee.
Critics from around the world have hailed Masur as fearless, bold, and a life-force (San Diego Union-Tribune) and a brilliant and commanding conductor with unmistakable charisma (Leipzig Volkszeitung). Masur began the 2018.19 season making his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia, then returned to Tanglewood to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Over his career, Masur has made many successful debuts with the likes of the Los Angeles, Dresden, Israel and Japan Philharmonics; the Hiroshima, San Diego, San Antonio and Memphis Symphonies; and the Orchestre National de France in Paris. His guest engagements during the 2018.19 season include weeks with the Louisville Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, and the Chicago Civic orchestra plus concerts abroad with the National Philharmonic of Russia, Collegium Musicum Basel, the Stavanger Symphony, and the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra in France.
Masur made his Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra debut on May 19, 2018, and was immediately invited back to open the MSOs current season in September 2018.
