Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Announces New Chief and Principal Guest Conductors

Mark Wigglesworth and Chloé van Soeterstède will each serve a four-year term in the positions

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has named Mark Wigglesworth as its new Chief Conductor and Chloé van Soeterstède as its new Principal Guest Conductor. Both conductors will begin in the positions at the opening of the 2024/25 seasons, for an initial term of four years.

Wigglesworth has been the BSO's Principal Guest Conductor since 2021, and replaces Kirill Karabits, who served the BSO as Chief Conductor for fifteen years. The first British conductor to hold the role in over 60 years, Wigglesworth is expected to conduct five weeks in his first season, with this number increasing to nine weeks from 2025/26.

He has previously worked with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Rising conductor Chloé van Soeterstède held the Taki Alsop Fellowship from 2019 to 2021 and was also a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the 2021/22 season. Hailing originally from France, she initially studied the viola, before pursuing conducting with Clark Rundell and Mark Heron at the Royal Northern College of Music.

In the 2023/24 season, she makes debuts with the Philharmonia and the Hallé, in Europe with the Bilbao Symphony, Norrkoping Symphony, and Lausanne Chamber orchestras, in the US with Colorado Springs Symphony and at Lincoln Center, New York, with the Orchestra Now, and further afield with the Auckland Philharmonia, Melbourne, and Adelaide Symphony orchestras.

"The BSO embraces the role of a twenty first century orchestra with talent, experience, passion, and care," said Mark Wigglesworth. "The commitment the entire organization shows to the many thousands of music lovers across the entire South West of England is inspirational and I am extremely excited to be joining them at a time when classical music’s undeniable force for good has never been more vital to the quality of the communities we live in."

"I will always remember my first concert with the BSO musicians," said Chloé van Soeterstède. "Their commitment to every note, their continued support through our weeks together, and their trust and dedication to my musical ideas were greatly exciting and fulfilling. I am truly humbled and honored to deepen my relationship with them, and to embark on a special journey together with our audiences in the South West of England."