Rhode Island Philharmonic Names New Music Director

The German conductor Ruth Reinhardt has been appointed to her first Music Director position

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School (RI Phil) has announced that the German conductor Ruth Reinhardt will be its next Music Director. She becomes the sixth Music Director in the institution's history, and this will be the first such post of her own career.

Originally a violinist, Reinhardt studied violin with Rudolf Koelman and conducting with Constantin Trinks and Johannes Schlaefli at the Zürich University of the Arts. More recently, she studied conducting with Alan Gilbert and James Ross at The Juilliard School.

She specializes in music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, particularly in music by women. Composers such as Grażyna Bacewicz, Kaija Saariaho, Lotta Wennäkoski, Daniel Bjarnason, Dai Fujikura, and Thomas Adès are frequently found on her programs.

Reinhardt has worked with many of the best orchestras in Europe and the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Seattle.

"We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Ruth Reinhardt as our next Music Director," said RI Phil Board Chair Susan Chung. "We were all impressed by the way Ms. Reinhardt brought out the best in our musicians; she has that rare ability to be a leader who is clear about her ideas and eminently approachable. She has a wonderful rapport with the Orchestra and won rave reviews from our students and faculty at the Music School this past January."

"The search committee and the Board of Directors are confident that Ms. Reinhardt embraces and embodies the RI Philharmonic’s vision of being a world-class orchestra and music school, and we believe she will be a transformational leader for both the Orchestra and the School."

"I am tremendously honored to join the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School as Music Director," Reinhardt said. "From our very first encounters, I have been impressed and inspired by the musicians and their ability to bring tremendous energy and musical precision to whatever they play. The Orchestra’s collaborative, community-minded spirit is very much in tune with my own commitment to sharing music beyond the concert hall."

"I look forward to working with young musicians through the Music School and have been impressed by the quality and commitment of the faculty and students. I’ve worked with many wonderful guest artists who would inspire both audiences and students and I intend to bring them to Rhode Island, as well as discover and develop relationships with many more."