Jonathan Taylor Rush has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Washington National Opera. Recent highlights include his subscription debut with the Nashville Symphony and his European debut with the Danish Philharmonic. He previously served as associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony and artistic director of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras, which he led on tour to Europe.

Rush is deeply commited to the music of both historic and contemporary Black composers, from the works of William Grant Still, Florence Price, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to premieres by Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, and James Lee III. Rush welcomes artists from other genres to the orchestral stage, and has worked with Jon Batiste, Cypress Hill, Leslie Odom Jr., Wordsmith, Ledisi, Big Freedia, Darin Atwater, and Karen Clark Sheard.

Recording highlights include the world premiere of Decca Simon’s brea(d)th with Minnesota Orchestra, released on Decca Classics in 2023. He recently also recorded Simon’s Monuments, released as an installation throughout Washington, DC< and worked with the Louisiana Philharmonic for Big Freedia’s album Live at the Orpheum Theatre, released in 2024.

Rush studied at Ohio State University and earned a master of music degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in April 2025.