Grammy-winning conductor to leave Nashville Symphony after 2024-2025 season
Giancarlo Guerrero, a six-time Grammy Award-winning conductor and music director, will step down as music director of the Nashville Symphony at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
The following season, Guerrero will transition into the role of music director laureate then return during in 2026-27 to lead the orchestra four weeks per year as the organization transitions into new artistic leadership.
A committee comprised of the board of directors, as well as musician, administrative and volunteer leadership, will be assembled to search for his successor.
"Though I look forward to being involved in the Nashville Symphony for a long time as music director laureate, I am excited to see what the Nashville Symphony has in store as their identity evolves with new musical leadership," Guerrero said.
Nashville Symphony Board Chair Pamela Carter said Guerrero is owed a debt of gratitude for his amazing work with the orchestra and his devotion to our city.
"His passion and enthusiasm for sharing musical experiences with our audiences is unparalleled," Carter said, "and we are grateful that he is giving us the gift of additional time with us as we search for his successor.”
In 2015, Guerrero partnered with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis and BMI to launch the Composer Lab & Workshop, an initiative to discover and nurture the next generation of American composers.
Together, Guerrero and the orchestra have released 21 commercial albums, which have garnered 18 Grammy nominations and 11 awards.
Born in Nicaragua, Guerrero immigrated to Costa Rica where he joined a local youth symphony. He later studied at Baylor University and obtained his master's degree at Northwestern University.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville symphony music director Giancarlo Guerrero to step down