Conductor
Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus
Following eight years as Music Director (2011–2019), Ludovic Morlot is now the Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony. Morlot’s innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. There were numerous collaborations with musicians from different genres, commissions and world premieres. Under Morlot’s baton, 19 recordings were released under the Seattle Symphony Media label, the orchestra received five Grammy Awards, and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year.
His élan, elegance and intensity on stage have endeared him to audiences and orchestras worldwide, from the Berliner Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony. His most recent appointment sees Morlot take up the role of Chief Conductor Designate of the Porto Symphony Orchestra at Casa da Música from 2027, alongside his current positions as Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra since September 2021 and Associate Artist of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra since 2019. He was Artistic Director and a founding member of the National Youth Orchestra of China (2017–2021), conducting its inaugural concerts at Carnegie Hall and in China in 2017, and touring with NYOC to Europe in 2019. He was Chief Conductor of La Monnaie from 2012–2014, conducting new productions in Brussels and at the Aix Easter Festival — including La Clemenza di Tito, Jenufa and Pelléas et Mélisande.
In 2026/2027, he makes his debut at the MITO SettembreMusica festival, presenting the Italian premieres of two Ravel rediscoveries alongside works by Falla, continuing his close association with the Ravel anniversary celebrations that have marked recent seasons. He returns to the BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Aalborg and Trondheim Symphony. Across North America, he conducts the San Diego, Seattle, Kansas City, New Jersey, Utah and Vancouver symphonies as well as the National Arts Centre Orchestra. In Asia and Australasia, he returns visits to the Adelaide Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic.
Last season's highlights included the successful European tour with the Barcelona Symphony to the Bonn Beethovensaal, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Tonhalle Düsseldorf, and a critically acclaimed performance with the Seattle Opera for their new production of Carmen. Morlot has previously guested with the Berliner Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, and Budapest Festival orchestras, and with many of the leading North American orchestras, notably the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago, and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras.
Morlot has a particularly strong connection with Boston, having been the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor at Tanglewood and subsequently appointed assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony. He has since conducted the orchestra in subscription concerts, at Tanglewood, and on a tour to the west coast of America. He has also appeared extensively in Asia and Australasia, notably with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. Festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Wien Modern, Edinburgh, Aspen, and Grant Park festivals.
Photo Credit: May Zircus
