“Marin Alsop is a pioneer among women conductors. After witnessing her inspiring leadership…I’m convinced she is one of the great conductors of our time.” (Cincinnati Business Courier)
One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop is the first woman to serve as the head of major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria, and Great Britain. She is internationally recognized for her innovative approach to programming and is the first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.
Alsop serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony; Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra; and Chief Conductor of the Ravinia Festival. She made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. Her long-awaited Berlin Philharmonic debut was in 2025.
To nurture the careers of women conductors, Alsop founded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship to empower extraordinary women conductors through intensive coaching, mentoring, and financial support. Today, all 36 award winners hold over 30 music director or chief conductor positions.
Alsop is a 2025-26 Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist, leading concerts by the Philharmonia Orchestra, and America at 250 programs with The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, and The Juilliard Orchestra. Other season highlights include opening The Philadelphia Orchestra’s season with the world premiere of John Adams’ The Rock You Stand On, dedicated to her; concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Houston Symphony; Washington National Opera; Polish National Radio Symphony; ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
In 2021, Alsop assumed the title of Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During her 14-year tenure as Music Director, she led the orchestra on its first European tour in 13 years, conducted more than two dozen world premieres, and founded the music education program OrchKids. She is the winner of the 2025 the Golden Baton Award from the League of American Orchestras.
Karol Szymanowski is considered to be Poland’s greatest composer after Chopin. A contemporary of Bartók, Stravinsky, Scriabin and Ravel, his earlier works are of the late romantic style – Strauss, Reger and Rimsky Korsakov.