Miguel Harth-Bedoya is resident director of orchestras and professor of conducting at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the founder of the Conducting Institute. He was previously chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and music director of the Fort Worth Symphony, where he is now music director laureate. He has also held music director positions with the Auckland Philharmonia, Eugene Symphony, Lima Philharmonic, and New York Youth Symphony, and was associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

As a guest conductor, Harth-Bedoya has led the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Dallas Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, New Zealand Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, and Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, among others. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut with the Día de los Muertos concert in November 2023 and makes his Orchestral Series debut this week.

With a passionate devotion to unearthing new South American repertoire, Harth-Bedoya is the founder and artistic director of Caminos del Inka, a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching, performing, and preserving the rich musical legacy of South America. His discography includes albums on Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Naxos, and MSR Classics, among other labels. He has recorded works by Jimmy López for Harmonia Mundi and MSR Classics, and led Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago with the Chicago Symphony and Yo-Yo Ma, which received two Grammy nominations.

Born and raised in Peru, Harth-Bedoya received his bachelor of music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his master of music from the Juilliard School.

Timothy Higgins joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Trombone in 2008 and holds the Robert L. Samter Chair. Since the start of the 2025–26 season, he has served as principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony while on leave from the SF Symphony. Before joining the SF Symphony, he was acting second trombone with the National Symphony. As an educator, Higgins has served on the faculties of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar at Northern Illinois University. He has also been part of the brass faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and Pacific Music Festival and led masterclasses worldwide.

In addition to an active performing career, Higgins is a composer and arranger. This past November, the SF Symphony commissioned and premiered his work Market Street, 1920s, and in 2021 Higgins composed and premiered his own Trombone Concerto, commissioned by Michael Tilson Thomas, with the Symphony. Additional arrangements and compositions by Higgins have been commissioned or performed by the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Steamboat Springs Strings Festival, and numerous university brass ensembles.

Originally from Houston, Higgins studied at Northwestern University. In 2005, he won the Robert Marsteller Solo Trombone Competition, as well as the International Trombone Association Trombone Quartet Competition with his group CT3. While attending the Tanglewood Music Center, he was awarded the Grace B. Upton Award for Outstanding Fellow. Higgins is a Bach Artist and an Ultimate Brass Artist.