Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School Appoints Ruth Reinhardt as Music Director

Ruth Reinhardt has been named the next music director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, which is based in Providence. She is music director designate effective immediately and will become music director at the start of the 2025-2026 season. Principal Conductor Robert Spano, who stepped in during the organization’s search, will remain in his current role through the 2024- 2025 season and then transition to principal guest conductor. Reinhardt has conducted orchestras in Europe and the U.S., including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, and the orchestras of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Seattle. Reinhardt is known for innovative programming and brings new names and faces to many orchestras for the first time. This includes a significant emphasis on women composers. A native of Saarbrücken, Germany, Reinhardt discovered her affinity for music early, learning violin and singing. She studied violin performance and conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts, and conducting at the Juilliard School. Reinhardt won conducting fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center, Taki Concordia, and Seattle Symphony. She was assistant conductor at the Dallas Symphony for two seasons, during which she was also a Dudamel Fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic.