The Italian conductor will be retained until the conclusion of the 2030/31 season

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) recently announced that its Music Director, Jader Bignamini, will receive a five-year contract extension. Bignamini is presently in the fourth season of his six-year initial contract.

The DSO also announced that Bignamini has completed his first recording project with the DSO. From December 1 to 3, the orchestra recorded Wynton Marsalis's Blues Symphony, and the disc will be released on the Pentatone label.

During his tenure in Detroit, Bignamini has reinvigorated the orchestra’s annual summer residency at Interlochen Center for the Performing Arts, championed the music of contemporary African American composers including Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon, and Michael Abels, and announced plans for the orchestra's first tour.

Bignamini has appeared with the Toronto, Houston, and Dallas symphonies, as well as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera.

"I am so very proud of all that we have accomplished together, but especially of the outstanding music-making by the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra," said Bignamini. "Although we did not know the challenges ahead of us when I first came to this great music city, we are rising to meet the demands of this new era. Our musicians’ dedication to their craft, and to being the best, makes my job a supreme pleasure as we build something remarkable here in Detroit and beyond."

"I look forward to showing the high quality of this orchestra through our recording of Marsalis’s Blues Symphony and on tour. I am deeply grateful to every musician of the orchestra, to Board Chair David T. Provost and our Board of Directors, to Erik Rönmark for his leadership, to the entire administrative staff, and to our amazing audiences—we couldn’t do what we do without you."