Music Director - Dr. TIFFANY LU

Conductor Tiffany Lu is proud to be the newly-appointed Music Director of the Pierre Monteux School and Music Festival in Hancock, ME; she has completed her second season as Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Florida, earning particular accolades for her music directorship of UF Opera's production of Carmen in April 2023. This season, she conducted the New York All-State Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 NYSSMA Conference and guest conducted the Cumberland Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Previous guest-conducting appearances include Symphony New Hampshire and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. From 2020-2022, Lu was Director of the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra at Sewanee University of the South. Prior to her current appointment, Lu served for five seasons as Associate Conductor of the Pierre Monteux Music Festival.

Over seven years, Lu developed a diverse portfolio of work in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia areas and Delaware. She held the position of Assistant Conductor with the Prince Georges’ Philharmonic (MD) from ‘19-’22, was Music Director of the Wilmington Community Orchestra (DE) for five seasons, and also Assistant and then Associate Conductor with Washington, D.C.’s Capital City Symphony from ‘15-’22, creating groundbreaking and creative programming. She was also selected as Conducting Fellow for the Allentown (PA) Symphony in 2019 and 2020. Other positions have included Music Director of the University of Maryland Repertoire Orchestra, cover conductor and principal librarian at the 2016 and 2017 National Orchestral Institute, and conductor with the DC Youth Orchestra Program and Annapolis Symphony Academy. Lu has guest-conducted the Symphony New Hampshire as well as the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra; and acted as cover conductor with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Symphony New Hampshire, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Georgetown University Orchestra, and Cornell University Orchestra. She has also served as lead producer on two recordings by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as well as the Smithsonian Chamber Players. 

Lu maintains an active performing profile as an orchestral violinist, chamber music collaborator, and private violin teacher. Her doctoral research focused on new models in the orchestral education of undergraduate string players. Her primary conducting mentors have included Michael Jinbo, Jim Ross, and Jeffery Meyer.

Lu grew up in Tampa, FL and holds degrees from Princeton University, Ithaca College, and the University of Maryland.

Associate Conductor - Kyle Ritenauer

New York City-based conductor Kyle Ritenauer is a rising presence in the classical music world. Kyle is on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music as a member of the conducting staff, Director of Orchestras at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, and regularly serves as Cover Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC) and the New York Philharmonic.

Kyle’s 2023-24 season is headlined by a production of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogue des Carmélites with the Cali Opera Program at Montclair State University, where he serves as principal conductor. Also at the Cali School Kyle will lead a full season of concerts including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no, 5, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, Bernstein’s Westside Story, Ravel’s Bolero, and will host guest artist Eric Whitacre. At the Manhattan School of Music, Kyle’s season is highlighted by a program featuring Copland’s Appalachian Spring alongside Wynton Marsalis’s A Fiddler’s Tale. Close to Kyle’s heart are the four world premiere commissions that will come to life with the MSM Percussion Ensemble programmed alongside Alberto Ginastera’s epic work for dramatic soprano and percussion orchestra, Cantata para America Magica.

Kyle is currently entering his second year as principal conductor of the Cali Opera Program and Director of the Cali Orchestra at Montclair State University. In his first season, Kyle led productions of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost. In the world of opera, Kyle has worked as associate conductor with organizations such as Opera de Montreal with Orchestre Mertopolitain, and the Des Moines Metro Opera with the Des Moines Symphony. Kyle has also premiered several productions of new operas and is very much at home with contemporary opera.

Throughout his career, Kyle has appeared as guest conductor with the Elgin Symphony, the Norwalk Symphony, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. In the role of cover conductor, Ritenauer has worked with the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), American Composers Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

Well versed in the world of ballet, Kyle, while serving as assistant conductor of the Juilliard Orchestra, stepped in on a moment's notice to lead the orchestra and dancers through a successful performance of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps at Lincoln Center. He has also led productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker as guest conductor with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions (2018, 2019, and 2021). In the world of contemporary ballet Kyle served as principal conductor for productions of Richard Danielpour’s Cassandra’s Curse (world premiere) and Aaron J. Kernis’s On Distant Shores with RIOULT Dance NY at New York City’s Joyce Theater.

Ritenauer has led orchestras in a myriad of genres, including collaborations with Broadway superstars Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Morrison, and giants of contemporary music such as John Adams, Claire Chase and Richard Danielpour. He was particularly honored to conduct a Juilliard School workshop of American Symphony by Jon Batiste, former bandleader of the Stephen Colbert Late Show. Kyle recently worked with The Knights (New York City) to workshop ATTENTION! in collaboration with mandolinist and composer Chris Thile.

Kyle is a passionate teaching artist and holds a particular fondness for bringing classical music to underserved communities. Through the Bridge Arts Ensemble, an ensemble which he founded in 2015, Ritenauer curated interactive, grade-specific concerts and workshops for 50,000 students across the Adirondack region of New York State on a yearly basis.

Kyle has had the honor and priviledge to assist conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Gianandrea Noseda, David Robertson, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Gemma New, Jader Bignamini, John Adams, and Marin Alsop among others. Kyle served for many year as the assistant conductor of New York City’s Camerata Notturna, a group that supported Kyle through a large part of his development as a young conductor.

Kyle is a student of David Robertson and a graduate of The Juilliard School’s Orchestral Conducting Program where, upon graduation, he received the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize for outstanding achievement. He also attended the Aspen Conducting Academy as a student of Robert Spano, and spent nine summers at The Pierre Monteux School studying with Michael Jinbo.

Guest Conducting Faculty - Ludovic Morlot

Ludovic Morlot’s élan, elegance and intensity on stage have endeared him to audiences and orchestras worldwide, from the Berliner Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony. Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra since September 2021, he is concurrently Conductor Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony (where he was Music Director 2011-2019) and was Associate Artist of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 2019-2024. He was Artistic Director and a founding member of the National Youth Orchestra of China 2017-2021, conducting their inaugural concerts at Carnegie Hall and in China in 2017, and touring with them 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 24/25 Morlot takes the Barcelona Symphony to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Aix Easter Festival and to l’Auditorium in his home city of Lyon, on the back of their successes together last season at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Stockholm Royal Concert Hall.  They continue their acclaimed Ravel CD cycle and champion the best of the Catalan composers on the orchestra’s own label, and repeat their hugely popular concert on the Beach (20,000 live attendance, 30,000 online). 

Guest highlights include a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boulez celebrations at Manchester Bridgewater Hall with the BBC Philharmonic, and two opera productions – Pelléas et Mélisande at Dallas Opera and Part 2 of Les Troyens at Seattle Opera, where in the past three seasons he has had great success with Rheingold, Die Walküre and Samson et Dalila.

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 the Seoul Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. Festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Wien Modern, Edinburgh, Aspen, and Grant Park festivals.

Morlot’s tenure in Seattle formed a hugely significant period in the orchestra’s musical journey and he still returns for several weeks each season. His innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire and commissions, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. Some of these projects, including John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto performed by James Ehnes and an exploration of Dutilleux’s music, have earned the orchestra five Grammy Awards, as well as the distinction of being named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. To date Morlot has released 21 recordings with the Seattle Symphony Media label, including Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux etoiles in 2023.

Trained as a violinist, he studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School (USA) with Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo. He continued his education in London at the Royal Academy and then at the Royal College as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship. Ludovic is Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle and a Visiting Artist at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. He sat on the jury of the Leeds International Piano Competition (2021) and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014 in recognition of his significant contribution to music.

Ludovic Morlot is represented by Intermusica.

Guest Conducting Faculty - Jeffery Meyer

Jeffery Meyer is professor of music in orchestral conducting and cochair of the Department of Orchestral Conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he has been on faculty since 2023.

Distinguished for insightful performances, visionary programming, and wide-ranging collaborations, he has captivated audiences in the contemporary orchestral scene around the globe. In addition to his work as the Jacobs School, Meyer is artistic partner with the Northwest Sinfonietta, one of the Northwest United States’ most dynamic orchestras.

As artistic director of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic for two decades, Meyer’s work with the orchestra was noted for its breadth and innovation. The orchestra’s American debut with three performances at Symphony Space’s Wall-to-Wall Festival in New York City was described by The New York Times as “impressive,” “powerful,” “splendid,” and “blazing.”  His programming has been awarded multiple prizes, including three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and two Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Awards in Orchestral Programming.

A champion of contemporary orchestral music, Meyer’s passion to fuse classical tradition with contemporary insight imagines the orchestral experience as a powerful medium for emotion, story, and cultural dialogue, fostering transformative collaborations with composers and performers, as well as multimedia visionaries, activists, and urban artists. His recorded catalogue includes repertoire from the early baroque to the music of our time. His most recent album,Illuminations: Music of Narong Prangcharoen, was released on the Albany Records label in 2023.

Recent projects include a newly developed multimedia performance of Stravinsky’s TheRite of Spring and Petrushka with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and a world-premiere choreography of Petrushka in collaboration with the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department; the world premiere of Carlos Simon’s Graffiti performed and recorded alongside internationally renowned graffiti artists; a theatrical symphonic concert focused on themes of social justice developed in collaboration with Daniel Bernard Roumain and Marc Bamuthi Joseph; the world- premiere recording of Laura Kaminsky’s Piano Concerto with pianist Ursula Oppens; a new, semi-staged production of Nkeiru Okoye’s Invitation to a Die-In; and multiple collaborations with the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot program.

Recent and upcoming engagements include appearances with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong with soprano Dawn Upshaw, the Sichuan Symphony, Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata, Texas Festival Orchestra at Round Top, and the Grossman Ensemble in Chicago.

Meyer’s commitment to the innovative future of classical music positions him as a sought-after educator and mentor. His guidance extends beyond technique, diving into the philosophy and intricacies of civic leadership in today’s evolving cultural scene.

Prior to his appointment at the Jacobs School of Music, he led the acclaimed orchestral programs at Arizona State University and Ithaca College. He has given master classes throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, and Asia and has led conducting master classes at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, Tianjin Conservatory, the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Meyer holds degrees in piano as well as composition and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with Gilbert Kalish at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.