Meet Guest Conductor Ludovic Morlot
Ludovic Morlot is Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of Seattle Symphony in addition to being Associate Artist, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Morlot’s élan, elegance and intensity on stage have endeared him to audiences and orchestras worldwide, from the Berlin Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony. During his eight years as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony he pushed the boundaries of traditional concert programming, winning several Grammys.
Morlot has conducted the Berliner Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, and Budapest Festival orchestras, and many of the leading North American orchestras, notably the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago, and Boston Symphony Orchestras. Morlot has a particularly strong connection with Boston, having been the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor at Tanglewood and subsequently appointed assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony. Since then he has conducted the orchestra in subscription concerts in Boston, at Tanglewood and on a tour to the west coast of America. He has also appeared extensively in Asia and Australasia, notably with the Seoul Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. Festival appearances have included the BBC Proms, Wien Modern, Edinburgh, and Aspen festivals.
His tenure in Seattle formed a hugely significant period in the musical journey of the orchestra. His innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. There were numerous collaborations with musicians from different genres, commissions and world premieres. Some of these projects, including John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto performed by James Ehnes and an exploration of Dutilleux’s music, have earned the orchestra five Grammy Awards, as well as the distinction of being named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. Morlot has released 19 recordings with the Seattle Symphony Media label which was launched in 2014.
Morlot opened last season with a concertante performance of Die Walküre at Seattle Opera, invited back for Samson et Dalila in January 2023 and for a fully-staged Rheingold in August 2023. In recent months he has conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco, Seattle, Utah and Sao Paulo symphonies. Guesting in Europe included the Netherlands Philharmonic, Copenhagen Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, Bergen Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Orquesta Castilla y Leon and of course Barcelona Symphony. He has a strong commitment to supporting emerging talent and regularly conducts students at the Colburn Conservatory. In 2021 he sat on the jury of the Leeds International Piano Competition and conducted students at the Royal Academy (London), New England Conservatory (Boston), and made his annual visit to the Aspen Festival.
He’ll be joining Pacific Symphony on the podium for the California Dreamin’ concerts, Nov. 16-18 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. To learn more and get tickets, please click here.