France's National Orchestra of Lille Names New Music Director

Joshua Weilerstein will step into the role as of September 2024

National Orchestra of Lille's General Director François Bou, President François Decoster, and the ensemble's Board of Directors appointed Joshua Weilerstein as the position of Music Director, succeeding Alexandre Bloch.

After 6 years as Artistic Director of the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, Weilerstein has recently taken up his position as Chief Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, in Denmark.

Conducting widely across Europe, his recent highlights have included concerts with Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, SWR Stuttgart Symphony, NDR Hannover, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. This season he makes his debut with the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra. In 23/24, he returns to the BBC Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras.

Originally a violinist, Weilerstein pursued his Master’s degree in violin and conducting at the New England Conservatory. During this time, he won the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen in 2009. He was subsequently appointed as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 2012-2015.

"Joshua Weilerstein conducts the world's greatest orchestras. His values are fully in line with those of our orchestra: openness, excellence and generosity", says François Bou, Managing Director of the ONL.