Teddy Abrams

How do traditional arts organizations respond to turbulent times?. Louisville, Ky. has been a center of protest since Breonna Taylor was killed by police a year ago, this month. Two prominent musicians in the city, an unusual pair, are collaborating in response: On one hand, there’s Jecorey Arthur – a rapper who, as of last year, became Louisville’s youngest elected official as a city councilor – and on the other there’s Teddy Abrams, conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, where he became music director seven years ago while still in his mid-20s. The two are now teaming up for a livestreamed concert this Saturday night as part of the program “LOVE,” or Louisville Orchestra Virtual Edition.

On April 26, Andrew and Trish Fleischman hosted an intimate reception at their home for the generous supporters of Louisville Orchestra and Teddy Abrams. The evening included light bits and a sneak preview where Teddy shared his vision for the upcoming season.

Featuring New Commission from Sebastian Chang & Star-Spangled Guest Artists. MEDFORD, OR — The Britt Festival Orchestra (BFO) announces its 2022 60th Anniversary summer season, anchoring Oregon’s Britt Music and Arts Festival with three weeks of exhilarating open-air programming in historic Jacksonville, Oregon. Under the inspirational leadership of Music Director Teddy Abrams, the 2022 season opens with a newly commissioned piece dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the Britt Festival Orchestra, composed and performed by pianist Sebastian Chang. During this Diamond Anniversary, programs include a diverse selection of composers and guest artists, with special focus on Black composers during the Juneteenth concert. Including Sebastian Chang, four outstanding soloists will perform throughout the season. The final concert steps it up a notch, featuring the 10-person ensemble People of Earth performing the West Coast premiere of a piece commissioned by Britt. This season’s Family Show will be offered as a morning concert, presenting the return of popular narrator Bruce Campbell. The 2022 Britt Orchestra Season runs from June 17 to July 3.

Teddy Abrams may be shopping for another shelf to hold all of his awards. The collection grew in the fall, when Abrams, who conducts the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville in the summer, was named Conductor of the Year by the magazine Musical America. MA bestowed the honor largely for the innovative work Abrams has done at his other job, leading the Louisville Orchestra.

Pianist Yuja Wang appears with the Louisville Orchestra in concerts Friday and Saturday in Whitney Hall to premiere a new “Piano Concerto” composed by Teddy Abrams. It’s the 14th composition Abrams has created for the orchestra in his eight years as music director, and the latest collaboration of Wang and Abrams comes from a friendship that dates to their college days at the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia – both setting sail on careers that now find them among the brightest young stars in classical music.

When dynamic young conductor Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra, takes the podium to lead the Sarasota Orchestra next weekend, he will be working on some familiar music, including his own. The program for the “American Voices” concerts that begin Friday in the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall,...

As Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon, Abrams joins a long list of award-winning conducting luminaries that includes Marin Alsop, Jaap van Zweden, Gianandrea Noseda, Pablo Heras-Casado, Franz Welser-Möst, and Abrams's own mentor, Michael Tilson Thomas. Musical America first appeared in print in...

Louisville Orchestra’s music director has received a prestigious national award. The orchestra announced Tuesday that Musical America has named Teddy Abrams “Conductor of the Year” for 2022. For more than 60 years, the global publication has recognized a few artists every year, in different categories, who have made significant contributions...

We already knew that Louisville Orchestra conductor Teddy Abrams was great. Now, America’s oldest classical music magazine has confirmed it, naming Abrams the 2022 Conductor of the Year. This is a prestigious award for Abrams, who has served eight seasons as Louisville Orchestra’s conductor. Past recipients of the Musical America...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Orchestra's legendary leader just got another major award. Teddy Abrams was named Musical America's Conductor of the Year. Among the reasons given for the distinction were his ability to connect the orchestra with the community. He was known for that even before the COVID-19...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Louisville Orchestra’s music director has earned high honors as one of the top conductors in America from a classical music publication. Tuesday, Teddy Abrams was named Conductor of the Year 2022 from Musical America as part of its Musical America Awards. Abrams, who joined the Louisville...

Musical America announced today that Teddy Abrams—the galvanizing conductor now in his eighth season as Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra—has been named Conductor of the Year for 2022. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer congratulated Abrams publicly at a news conference soon after the announcement was made. From his earliest days in Louisville, the conductor has been lauded for his efforts to connect the orchestra with the community at large, exemplified most recently by his musical responses to the global pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, as well as creative initiatives like his rap-opera The Greatest, honoring heavyweight champion and Louisville native Muhammad Ali and featuring local rapper Jecorey Arthur, now newly elected as one of Louisville’s Metro Councilmen. Abrams also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. As a recipient of this prestigious award, he joins a long list of conducting luminaries that includes Marin Alsop, Jaap van Zweden, Gianandrea Noseda, Pablo Heras-Casado, Franz Welser-Möst, and Abrams’s own mentor, Michael Tilson Thomas. The conductor’s videotaped response upon receiving news of the award can be seen here.

The series at Whiskey Ranch wrapped up last night with Tessa Lark, a classical violinist who can also play bluegrass, something she’s uniquely positioned to do as the daughter of a bluegrass musician from Kentucky. (She mentioned being happy at playing at a venue with so many bourbon barrels.) With her accompanist Teddy Abrams, she presented a program I have not experienced before.

Listen to WBBM’s Smart Quiz segment Monday, July 26 thru Friday, July 30 for your chance to win tickets to see The Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Teddy Abrams Unboxing Bernstein: A Live Revue on Saturday, August 7 at Ravinia and receive a special gift from Ravina and WBBM!

On this ARTICULATE special, we explore the life and work of conductor and composer Teddy Abrams. The thirty-something music director of The Louisville Symphony is reviving and revolutionizing the relationship between the orchestra and its community. Visit Teddy Abrams on Facebook and Instagram. About The Series:. Season 7 of ARTICULATE...

Grammy award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma speaks with conductor, composer, and musician Teddy Abrams about the power of music.