Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Names New Chief Conductor
Jonathan Bloxham will step into the role from the 2024/25 season
The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (NWD) recently announced that British conductor Jonathan Bloxham will become its Chief Conductor from the opening of the 2024/25 season, for an initial term of three years. He succeeds Jonathon Heyward, who has taken over from Marin Alsop as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
The NWD noted that following an extensive consultation period, the orchestra's players selected Bloxham by a significant majority.
Bloxham began his conducting career as assistant conductor at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and quickly progressed to working with ensembles such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.
In October 2022, he was named as the Resident Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Mozart Players, and he is also presently Music Director at the Theater Luzerner.
Prior to beginning his conducting career, Bloxham was a founder member and the cellist of the Busch Trio, and performed regularly at the Wigmore Hall, across Europe and on BBC Radio 3. He still plays chamber music on occasion.
As a conductor, Bloxham trained with Sian Edwards, Michael Seal, Nicolas Pasquet, and Paavo Järvi.
"I am thrilled and honored to be joining the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie as their new Chief Conductor from 24/25!" Bloxham said. "I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know this wonderful group of musicians over the past few seasons, exploring a wide range of repertoire together in concert and in recording."
"Their long-standing commitment to serving the communities of North Rhine-Westphalia is inspiring and I can’t wait to share all the exciting plans we have together for the coming years!"
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