Teddy Abrams, Grammy Award winner and Musical America’s 2022 Conductor of the Year, has been the galvanizing force behind the Louisville Orchestra’s artistic renewal and innovative social impact since his appointment as music director in 2014. His work has been profiled by CBS Sunday Morning, the New Yorker, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and PBS NewsHour.
This season, Teddy makes his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with return guest conductor appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra and Curtis Symphony Orchestra. A prolific and award-winning composer himself, Teddy — as part of the Emerson Collective Fellowship — will compose an orchestral work to premiere in the Louisville Orchestra’s 2025–26 season that tells the story of the state of Kentucky. The raw material for the piece will come from community sessions Teddy leads on visits around the state: time spent with Kentuckians music-making, storytelling, and sharing local history.
