Andreas Delfs

Principal Conductor

Internationally recognized for fostering innovative performances and programs through highly-acclaimed musical direction, Maestro Andreas Delfs’ energy on and off the podium has made him a model for the next generation of music directors.

Maestro Delfs has held chief artistic posts with distinguished institutions in North America and Europe. He recently concluded his tenure with the Milwaukee Symphony and became conductor laureate. He also served as the Music Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (2001-2004). In Europe, he served as General Music Director of Hannover, Germany (1995-2000), conducting that city’s symphony orchestra and opera company.

Delfs’ continuing commitment to contemporary music is a distinguishing point in his career. Since his student days at the Julliard School of Music, he has established a connection with living composers and counts among his musical inspirations such as John Corigliano and Philip Glass. Similarly, Delfs is in high demand as a collaborative conductor; and is the frequent partner to many of the world’s most renowned solo artists in both vocal and instrumental fields. Emmanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yo Yo Ma, Midori, André Watts and Renée Fleming all make music with Delfs.

Delfs’ most recent recordings include a collection of sacred songs with Renée Fleming and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the Decca label. Past recording projects include a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel in English with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, as well as a recording of Mozart’s Requiem, with the St. Olaf Choir and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

In addition, Delfs maintains an active guest conducting schedule while continuing relationships with distinguished institutions in North America and abroad. In Europe, he has has made guest appearances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Euskadi Orchestra.

Born in Flensburg, Germany, Delfs began the study of piano and music theory at age five and joined the roster of the Flensburg Stadttheater as conductor and composer at 17. He studied with Chirstoph von Dohnányi and Aldo Ceccato at the Hamburg Conservatory and served as a staff conductor at the Luneburg Stadttheater. At 20, he became the Music Director of the Hamburg University Orchestra–the youngest person to hold this post. Guest conductor at the Bremen State Theatre in 1981, Maestro Delfs graduated from Hamburg Conservatory that same year. Enrolling in the Julliard School, he studied with Jorge Mester and Sixten Ehrling, and won the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship on the way to receiving his master’s degree in 1984.