Rochester Philharmonic Names Jherrard Hardeman as Assistant Conductor

The 25-year-old will conduct a range of outreach concerts, as well as lead the RPO's youth orchestra

Based in Rochester, New York, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has appointed 25-year-old conductor Jherrard Hardeman as the new Assistant Conductor to Music Director Andreas Delfs. As part of the position, Hardeman will also serve as the Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

The role involves a great deal of outreach with the orchestra's wider community. Hardeman will lead the RPO in their family concerts, education concerts, July summer series, and a matinee program featuring works by Mozart and Dvořák.

Hardeman studied with David Roberts at The Juilliard School, and since September 2022 has held a position as Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta. He has also led the Seattle Symphony, the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Grosse Pointe Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, and the Longy Conservatory Orchestra.

"It is with great pleasure that I welcome Jherrard Hardeman to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as our Assistant Conductor for the 2023-24 concert season," said Andreas Delfs. "Jherrard convinced the audition committee with his superb musicianship, affable personality and spirited presentation of ideas and programs. The entire RPO family wishes him a happy and rewarding tenure with a great American orchestra."

"Andreas is a wealth of information and will be a wonderful mentor," Hardeman said. "In that first conversation, we spoke about where the field of classical music is going, and we agreed that the role of the Assistant Conductor is facing the community in a way that’s very direct."

"I’m the sort of conductor who will be in the lobby immediately after performances to connect with audiences and talk about what they’ve just experienced, and also to find out what they want from their orchestra," he added.