Conductor Jordan de Souza Appointed as Dortmund's General Music Director

The Canadian will lead the German city's opera and its orchestra in this dual role

The 35-year-old Canadian conductor Jordan de Souza has been named as the new General Music Director for the German city of Dortmund. In this capacity, he will conduct at the city's opera house, as well as leading the Dortmunder Philharmoniker.

De Souza impressed the orchestra's management when he last appeared with them in April 2023, in a concert featuring works by Gershwin, Debussy, and Ravel — with members of the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno also featuring.

Born in Toronto, de Souza studied conducting at Montreal's McGill University, where he made his debut leading Bach's St John Passion at the age of 20. A four-year stint on faculty at McGill followed, during which time he was also conductor-in-residence at Toronto's Tapestry Opera.

In 2016, de Souza took up a position at Komische Oper Berlin, where he stayed for a four-year period. During this time, he led performances of Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Petrushka, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Eugene Onegin and Il barbiere di Siviglia.

In recent seasons, de Souza has appeared at the Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, later making his Proms debut with the same orchestra, and has also led the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In 2022 he also made his Glyndebourne debut, where he conducted Puccini's La bohème.