NYYS Music Director Joshua Gersen appointed Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic

NEW YORK - Feb. 25, 2015 - PRLog -- The New York Philharmonic has announced that Joshua Gersen has been appointed the orchestra’s new Assistant Conductor, commencing with the 2015/16 season. Gersen will continue to serve as music director and principal conductor for the New York Youth Symphony concurrently with his newly appointed position at the Philharmonic. Conductor Gersen continues a long line of conducting excellence established by former NYYS music directors such as Leonard Slatkin, Myung-Whun Chung, David Alan Miller, Samuel Wong, and
Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

“I’m honored and beyond thrilled to be joining the New York Philharmonic,” said Gersen. “Having the opportunity to work with extraordinary musicians in the orchestra and renowned Maestro Alan Gilbert is a dream come true. But I’m equally excited to be able to continue to be a part of the NYYS family. It’s an absolute joy working with such talented young musicians and being part of an organization that places music and education at the core of its mission.”

“On behalf of all of us at the NYYS, I would like to congratulate Joshua on this exciting opportunity,” said NYYS Board of Trustees chairman, Leslie Garfield. “We are thrilled he will continue to work with our talented students and lead the NYYS orchestra.”

Gersen is scheduled to take the podium for the NYYS orchestra on the following dates:

Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 2pm – Carnegie Hall; Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage

Sunday, May 24, 2015 at 2pm – Carnegie Hall; Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage

Gersen will also lead the NYYS orchestra from June 28 until July 6, 2015 on its first-ever international tour of Argentina.

About Joshua Gersen
Rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising and exciting young American conductors,
Joshua Gersen began his tenure as Music Director of the NYYS in the 2012/2013 season. He was previously the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Conducting Fellow for the New World Symphony, where he served as the assistant conductor to the symphony’s Artistic Director, Michael Tilson Thomas.He was the winner of the 2011 Aspen Conducting Prize and the 2010 Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize from the Aspen Music Festival.

Gersen served as the principal conductor of the Ojai Music Festival in 2013, and has conducted the Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Jacksonville symphonies. Gersen is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller, and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied composition.

About the NYYS

The NYYS is one of the most awarded youth program of its kind in the nation, recognized for its innovative, tuition-free educational programs for talented young musicians. Founded in 1963 as an orchestra to showcase the metropolitan area’s most gifted musicians ages 12-22, its activities have since grown to encompass programs in chamber music, conducting, composition, and jazz, with performances at world class venues including Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center.