Alexander Shelley.
In Wednesday’s (5/15) Ottawa Citizen (Canada), “Alexander Shelley will step down from his position as music director for the National Arts Centre Orchestra in July 2026. By then, the British-born musician will have led the orchestra for 11 seasons, with his contract renewed twice. The newly announced 2025-26 season will be his swan song in Ottawa. ‘I think it’s a really healthy period of time to be with an orchestra,’ Shelley said in an interview, employing a German expression … ‘Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist,’ he said, translating it as ‘Go when it’s most beautiful.’… Shelley, who’s 45, already has his next gigs lined up. In 2023, he was appointed artistic director for Florida’s Artis-Naples, a multi-disciplinary organization that includes the Baker Museum and an arts center with a resident orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic. That position will continue…. Now there’s a position in California added to his workload. Shelley is to become music director of the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, California. Following a season as music director designate, he will take over full leadership of the orchestra in 2026-27, replacing Carl St.Clair. ‘The number of weeks of commitment is identical to what I do here in Ottawa,’ Shelley said.”
