German conductor SEBASTIAN LANG-LESSING has been appointed music director of the San Antonio Symphony, effective in October 2010. He will be the eighth music director in the orchestra’s 70-year history, with an initial contract that runs through 2013-14, the orchestra’s first scheduled season in the new Bexar County Performing Arts Center. An experienced leader and frequent guest conductor in both the symphonic and opera field, Lang-Lessing attracted international attention at age 24 as winner of Berlin’s Ferenc Fricsay Prize. He is currently chief conductor and artistic director of the Tasmanian Symphony in Australia, where his extensive discography now includes the complete symphonies of Mendelssohn and Schumann as well as music by Saint Saëns, d’Indy, Franck, Ravel, Bruch, and contemporary Australian composer Brett Dean. Prior to his Tasmanian post he spent eight years as conductor-in-residence at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and seven as music director and chief conductor of France’s Opéra National de Lorraine (known at the start of his tenure as Opéra de Nancy). As music director of the San Antonio Symphony Lang-Lessing will conduct the vast majority of its subscription concerts, as well as special performances and activities in the education and community outreach area. He and his wife will maintain a home in San Antonio in addition to their current residence in Berlin.
Posted February 16, 2010
