Nathalie Stutzmann will become Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Fifth Music Director from the 2022-2023 season. She will be the first woman to serve as the ASO’s music director and only the second woman to lead a major American orchestra, following in the footsteps of Marin Alsop. As the fifth Music Director in the ASO’s history, Stutzmann follows Henry Sopkin, Robert Shaw, Yoel Levi and Robert Spano.
“It is a privilege to be named Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The devoted commitment to music of the ASO musicians touches my heart. They have beautiful open minds, and they love to work hard, to be challenged and to take the necessary risks to serve the music and bring the highest levels of emotion to their audience. There is a special chemistry between the orchestra and me that we all immediately recognized, and this is the perfect time for us to deepen our relationship. After doing such wonderful work with Robert Spano over the past 20 years, the orchestra is in top shape, and I look forward to working with this incredible ensemble to chart new artistic territory. As a singer, I am also thrilled about the prospect of working with the ASO Chorus, which is one of America’s finest choirs. We are planning several ambitious projects, including performances of Mozart’s Requiem in March 2022 and of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, a life-changing experience for any orchestra, during the 2022-23 season. It is also very important for us to connect with the Atlanta community, sharing our infectious love of music. Fulfilling the community’s hopes and expectations is a huge responsibility and a legacy that I am honored to continue.”
Nathalie Stutzmann will be the only woman leading a major American ensemble when she takes the Atlanta Symphony’s podium next year.
The 25 largest orchestras in the United States have something in common: Not one is led by a woman.
But that is about to change. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announced on Wednesday that it had chosen Nathalie Stutzmann, a conductor and singer from France, as its next music director.
Stutzmann, 56, will be only the second woman in history to lead a top-tier American orchestra when she takes the podium in Atlanta next year. She follows Marin Alsop, whose tenure as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra ended in August after 14 years.
Stutzmann said she hoped her selection would inspire other orchestras to appoint women.
“I’m not looking for a world dominated by women,” she said in a video call. “I’m just looking for equality — that we will one day not be considered as a minority, but as musicians, conductors and maestros.”
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