Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Music Director

ANDREW CRUST, MUSIC DIRECTOR

 

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Andrew Crust for a four-year term as its fifth Music Director, effective March 2023. Crust succeeds Jaime Laredo, who stepped down from the position in 2021 after a twenty-year tenure leading the orchestra. Crust’s first concert as the VSO’s Music Director will take place on September 30, 2023 at the Flynn in Burlington.
 
“I am overjoyed and deeply grateful to the musicians, staff, and Board of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for choosing me to be the orchestra’s next musical leader in its 89th season. I want to also recognize the immense impact of outgoing Music Director Jaime Laredo, whose artistic vision shaped this orchestra over two decades and paved the way for exciting new growth in the future. When I performed for the first time with the VSO in February 2023, I was immediately struck by not only the orchestra’s extremely high artistic quality and sense of pride, but also their desire to explore new repertoire, and to continue to evolve and adapt as the modern world continues to change. I am very much looking forward to the impactful and transformative work we will do together in the coming seasons.” Andrew Crust

American/Canadian conductor Andrew Crust has developed a versatile international career as a conductor of orchestral, opera, ballet, film, pops, and choral programs. In his recent and upcoming seasons, Crust conducts the Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, San Diego, Arkansas, Elgin, Rockford, Chattanooga, Memphis, Hartford, Billings, Vancouver Island, Laval, Nova Scotia, and Bozeman Symphonies.

Crust has collaborated with soloists such as Tracy Silverman, George Li, Charles Yang, Sandeep Das, Awadagin Pratt, and Laquita Mitchell, and in the pops realm, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Bolton, Tony DeSare, Dee Daniels, and more. Crust served as Associate Conductor of the Vancouver Symphony from 2019 – 2022, the Memphis Symphony from 2017 – 2019, the National Youth Orchestra in 2017 and 2018, and Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony Program. He is currently in his third year as Music Director of the Lima Symphony where he conducts Grand Series, Pops, and Education programs.

Crust’s experience includes engagements with Opera McGill, Boulder Opera, Ballet Memphis, Cirque de la Symphonie, and the United States Jazz Ambassadors. He has composed orchestral arrangements of compositions by Alma Mahler, Sergei Prokofiev, and Florence Price, as well as educational programs.

He has been awarded prizes and residencies by The Solti Foundation, the Accademia Chigiana, the Nestle/Saltzburg Festival, and the Vienna Philharmonic’s Ansbacher Fellowship program and has conducted overseas with the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana in Italy, Hamburger Symphoniker at the Mendelssohn Festival in Germany, the Moravian Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile in Santiago.

“Ever since the days of my conducting studies at McGill University in Montréal I have loved Vermont. I used to come through Burlington quite often, and I can’t think of a more alluring place to work and make music. Mountains, lakes, the vibrancy of a college town paired with the rugged, yet relaxed New England feel––who could ask for more? I look forward to meeting all our Vermont patrons across the state and sharing the gift of music with all of you for many seasons to come,” says Crust.

More information can be found at www.andrewcrust.com

 

The VSO’s Music Director search began in 2019 when Jaime Laredo announced his intention to leave after twenty years as the organization’s artistic leader. From the initial search process, seven finalist candidates were brought to Burlington over the two seasons (with three candidates withdrawing). The Search Committee was comprised of 11 members drawn from the VSO’s orchestra, Board, and partner arts communities.