Music Director
Hailed by the Boston Phoenix as “…both an inspired conductor…and an inspired programmer,” Courtney Lewis is quickly becoming recognized as one of today’s top emerging talents. He is founding music director of Boston’s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble, a chamber orchestra with the mission of introducing inner-city school children to classical music while bringing new and unusual repertoire to established concert audiences. In September 2010 he became associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra after one year as assistant conductor. In 2010/11 he leads the Minnesota Orchestra in over forty performances, including two state tours and a full season of educational programs. He makes his subscription debut in November 2011 with fully-staged performances of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.
In November 2008 Lewis made his major American orchestra debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, leading a series of concerts and assisting conductor David Robertson. He previously completed a two-year tenure as Zander Fellow with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, a prestigious conducting apprenticeship under the ensemble’s music director, Benjamin Zander. In recent seasons he has worked with the BBC Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, and at the New Hampshire Music Festival as well as with smaller groups including the Nash Ensemble. During the 2010-11 season he will return to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lewis attended the University of Cambridge, where he studied composition with Robin Holloway and clarinet with Dame Thea King, graduating at the top of his year with starred first class honors. After completing a master’s degree with a focus on the late music of György Ligeti, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers included Sir Mark Elder and Clark Rundell.
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