Andrew Grams, conductor

With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts and long-term orchestra building. Mr. Grams has led orchestras throughout the United States including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Symphony, and the Houston Symphony. He served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser-Möst, and has since returned for several engagements.

A frequent traveler, Mr. Grams has worked extensively with orchestras abroad, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecillia, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra.

2015-2016 marks Mr. Grams’ third season as Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. He returns to the Dallas, Detroit, Toronto, North Carolina, Phoenix, Tucson, and Charlotte Symphonies, and makes debuts with the Seattle Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, and Boise Philharmonic. He will also lead a Gershwin festival with the Orquestra Simfoica de Barcelona before returning to Australia to work with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Western Australia Symphony Orchestra.  Born in Severn, Maryland, Mr. Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999 he received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 studying with David Zinman, Murry Sidlin and Michael Stern at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and returned to that program again in 2004.

As an accomplished violinist, Mr. Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998-2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the New Jersey Symphony.