California Symphony Extends Music Director Contract

American conductor Donato Cabrera will remain with the orchestra for an additional five years

Donato Cabrera was first appointed music director of the California Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in 2013. In April 2023, the orchestra also added the role of artistic director to Cabrera’s title.

For the last decade, Cabrera has notably shaped the orchestra’s outreach programs and approach to 21st-century programming — to include more works by living composers, women, and people of color. 

Additionally, he has overseen the selection process of the CSO Young American Composer-in-Residence program, which has supported award-winning composers including Mason Bates, Kevin Puts, Katherine Balch, and Viet Cuong. 

Also the music director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Cabrera has served as the resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and music director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra between 2009 and 2016. 

He is one of few who have conducted the Symphony, Opera, and Ballet of San Francisco, and is co-founder of the New York-based American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) — dedicated to showcasing masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. 

In recent seasons, Cabrera has debuted with the National Symphony’s KC Jukebox, Louisville Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Staatstheater Cottbus, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Orquesta Sinfónica Concepción, Nevada Ballet Theatre, New West Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, and the Reno Philharmonic. 

His many accolades include a Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship at the Salzburg Festival, as well as being recognized by the Consulate-General of Mexico in San Francisco as a Luminary of the Friends of Mexico Honorary Committee, for promoting and developing the presence of the Mexican community in the Bay Area.

“We are delighted to not only announce the extension of Music Director Donato Cabrera’s contract for another 5 years, but also his additional title of Artistic Director,” the CSO posted on Facebook. “Thank you, Donato, for 10 stellar years. Here’s to the next decade!”

Established in 1986 under founding music director Barry Jekowsky and based at the Lesher Center for the Arts the CSO includes musicians who perform with the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, and Ballet, and other acclaimed ensembles.