(Photo courtesy of Charles Osgood)
Giancarlo Guerrero has been named Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival.
Guerrero is a six-time Grammy Award winner and led the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in three concerts throughout 2024. He is currently music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and has been named music director of the Sarasota Orchestra.
In 2025, he plans to conduct the festival for four weeks.
Guerrero will succeed Carlos Calmar, who has held the position for 25 years and is currently Conductor Laureate. Kalmar announced that he will retire in 2021 at the end of the 2024 season.
“From the moment I stepped onto the stage in the glorious Pritzker Pavilion for the first time and gazed out at a sea of people that was a snapshot of the entire city of Chicago, I quickly realized that the Grant Park Music Festival is a gift to the community. “In the heart of the vibrant downtown of one of the most exciting cities in the world, here is a festival dedicated to orchestral music designed for everyone to enjoy,” Guerrero said in an official press release. Ta. “The festival’s mission closely aligns with my philosophy that music should be enjoyed by people from all walks of life without boundaries,” Guerrero said. “I felt a very natural and easy connection with these wonderful musicians, including a wonderful orchestra and a wonderful choir. Musically speaking, when I first interacted with them from the podium, I knew there was a spark. These musicians come from orchestras and opera companies from around the region and around the world, and are truly the best of the best.”
Mr. Guerrero was unanimously selected by the Grant Park Orchestra at a meeting on September 23.
