Cristian Măcelaru is music director of the Cincinnati Symphony and Orchestre National de France, artistic director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, artistic director and principal conductor of Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and music director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. He also serves as a distinguished visiting artist at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and as artistic partner of the WDR Symphony in Cologne, where he previously served as chief conductor.

Măcelaru has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and NDR Elbphilharmonie, among other orchestras. Across his titled roles, Măcelaru has consistently elevated artistic standards while expanding audience engagement. He led Orchestre National de France at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, before a global audience estimated at 1.5 billion people.

Măcelaru received a Grammy Award for his Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His discography includes critically acclaimed recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Naïve Records, Linn Records, and other leading labels.

Born in Timișoara, Romania, Măcelaru moved to the United States at age 17 to attend Interlochen. He studied at the University of Miami and Rice University, and further refined his craft at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival. He is a recipient of both the Solti Emerging Conductor Award and the Solti Conducting Award. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in October 2018.

Simon Trpčeski opened the 2025–26 season with the Prague Philharmonia and Seattle Symphony, and he also appears this season with the Vancouver Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Israel Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Singapore Symphony. He debuts with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia and Bilbao Symphony, and gives recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

Trpčeski began his career as a BBC New Generation Artist, and has gone on to collaborate with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, among many others. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2004.

Trpčeski has recorded the complete Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev concertos with Vasily Petrenko. With Cristian Măcelaru, he recorded the Shostakovich and Brahms concertos. His recent recital album Variations was an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and won the Choc de Classica and Amadeus D’oro awards. Beyond the concert stage, Trpčeski is committed to celebrating and sharing the rich musical traditions of his native Macedonia. His chamber music project Makedonissimo blends traditional folk music with virtuosic, jazz-inflected textures, and has toured across Europe, North America, and Asia. In recognition of his artistic achievements, Trpčeski received the Presidential Order of Merit for Macedonia in 2009, and in 2011 became the country’s first-ever National Artist. This season marks the 25th anniversary of his career, celebrated with a gala concert at the National Arena in Skopje, featuring the Macedonian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and longtime artistic collaborators.