Sasha Scolnik-Brower Named as Inaugural Bernard Haitink Conducting Fellow

Scolnik-Brower will spend the next two seasons working as the assistant to Sir Simon Rattle at the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (BRSO) recently announced that young conductor Sasha Scolnik-Brower will serve as its first Bernard Haitink Conducting Fellow. Funded by a gift from Haitink's widow, Patricia Haitink, the two-year fellowship will see Scolnik-Brower work under Sir Simon Rattle to present projects and concerts throughout the 2024/25 season.

Scolnik-Brower will be in sole charge of a school concert and a family concert in January 2025. As Rattle's assistant, he will cover repertoire including Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Mahler's Seventh Symphony, Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, Brahms's Requiem, and Mozart's Symphonies 39—41.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Scolnik-Brower studied with David Robertson — before augmenting his education at the Dutch National Masters of Orchestral Conducting, where his teachers were Jac van Steen, Ed Spanjaard, Kenneth Montgomery, and Antony Hermus.

Scolnik-Brower has recently made debuts at the Staatsoper Hamburg (Die Fledermaus), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Residentie Orkest in collaboration with the Dutch National Opera Academy (Il ritorno d’Ulisse).

He has also served as a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

"Nearly 50 years ago I had the privilege to work with Bernard Haitink in Glyndebourne as both rehearsal pianist and colleague," said Sir Simon Rattle. "His warmth and generosity have stayed with me all of these years, as well as his empathy and encouragement when times were hard. A great conductor of course, but a great mensch in addition. I hope to be able to pass on a little of his wisdom to the next generation in turn, and we are profoundly grateful for Patricia’s gift in her husband’s memory which makes this a possibility. We hope we can do him proud!"

"I’m honored to be the inaugural Bernard Haitink Conducting Fellow with the BRSO," said Scolnik-Brower. "The opportunity to work closely with this remarkable orchestra under the invaluable guidance of Simon Rattle promises to make the next two years an extraordinary experience."