Cristian Măcelaru, the newly appointed Music Director and Conductor for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, has established himself as one of the fastest-rising stars in the conducting world. He had his inaugural season at Cabrillo in August 2017 and completed his tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Conductor-in-Residence, a title he held for three seasons. Prior to that, he was Associate Conductor for two seasons and previously Assistant Conductor for one season from September 2011. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra subscription debut in April 2013 and continues to maintain a close relationship with the orchestra, leading them in annual subscription programmes and other special concerts.
The 2017/18 season saw Măcelaru opening the National Symphony Orchestra’s season in Washington D.C. and returning to the Philadelphia Orchestra on three subscription programmes plus Messiah concerts. He guest conducts the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, Seattle, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, San Diego and Vancouver. Internationally he leads the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Swedish Radio Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Halle Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In the summer of 2017, Măcelaru made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival and also made further appearances at the Grand Teton and Interlochen Festivals. Măcelaru was the winner of the 2014 Solti Conducting Award. Before that, in 2012, he was the recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award. He currently resides in Philadelphia.