Lafayette Symphony Orchestra Names New Conductor & Artistic Director

Kellen Gray becomes the orchestra's first Black conductor

Following a two-year search period, Kellen Gray has been appointed as the new Conductor & Artistic Director of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra (LSO). Gray becomes the orchestra's sixth conductor, and is also its first Black conductor.

Gray was selected one of three finalists from an initial pool of 200 applicants, and won the job following a week in residence with the LSO during the 2023/24 season.

Hailing originally from South Carolina, Gray has been an Associate Artist at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra since 2023, following a period as their Assistant Conductor. He has also held fellowships or assistant positions with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra.

As well as specializing in folk-influenced composers such as Béla Bartók, Manuel de Falla, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gray is an expert in works from composers of the African diaspora. He is Assistant Editor & Conductor Liaison for the African Diaspora Music Project, following research at The Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) at Columbia College Chicago.

Recently, he recorded the discs African-American Voices I and II with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. These albums feature works by composers including Margaret Bonds, William Dawson, William Grant Still, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Florence Price, and George Walker.

"We are excited to welcome Kellen Gray to the LSO team!" said Sara Mummey, LSO Executive Director. "With the benefit of his unique perspectives and expertise, we look forward to advancing the LSO’s commitment to exploring the breadth and diversity of the orchestral canon and beyond."

"Greater Lafayette and, in fact, our entire 14-county service area can look forward to expanded efforts to support and engage with our community and to make the LSO a welcoming place for all."

"I've been the only Black conductor or first Black conductor on staff at every orchestra I've been with, whether it be the Valdosta Symphony of Georgia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, even in a 125-year-old orchestra, I was still the first Black conductor on staff," Gray told WFYI in an interview.

"But I do take on the responsibility and understand the role of representation, in that I didn't see any conductors or classical musicians when I was a kid, and it's hard to be what you can't see," he added. "So I understand that there are people that see me who I need to be an example for, and I will open doors for, because those doors were open to me."