Leonard Slatkin appointed Nashville Symphony Music Advisor for three seasons as music director search continues
A transitional leadership role after Guerrero’s final season
The Nashville Symphony has appointed conductor Leonard Slatkin to serve as Music Advisor for a three-season term beginning with the 2025–26 season, as the organization continues its search for a new music director following Giancarlo Guerrero’s departure at the end of the 2024–25 season.
Guerrero announced in June 2023 that he would conclude his tenure after the 2024–25 season. The Symphony has said he will hold the title of Music Director Laureate starting in 2025–26 and is scheduled to return to conduct for several weeks per year during the transition.
What the Music Advisor position entails
In the Music Advisor role, Slatkin is expected to provide artistic direction and work with the Symphony on programming, auditions, and musician advancement, while also contributing to longer-term planning. The Symphony has indicated Slatkin will conduct selected concerts during his term, including a 20th-anniversary gala tied to Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The appointment is structured as an interim leadership model rather than a permanent music director selection, placing Slatkin alongside the orchestra’s internal search process for its next long-term artistic leader.
A return to a familiar post in Nashville
Slatkin previously served the Nashville Symphony in the same advisory capacity from 2006 to 2009, spanning the orchestra’s move into the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which opened in September 2006. The opening gala at the new hall was conducted by Slatkin.
His renewed engagement is set to run through the 2027–28 season. The Symphony has framed the appointment as a continuity measure intended to support artistic planning and orchestral operations while the music director position remains under review.
Context: major milestones for the orchestra and its home hall
Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the orchestra’s downtown home, opened in 2006 and is approaching its 20th anniversary in 2026. The venue is anchored by the Laura Turner Concert Hall, a roughly 1,800-seat space that also houses a large concert organ and is designed with adaptable staging and seating configurations.
Founded in 1946, the Nashville Symphony has expanded its national profile in recent decades through recordings, touring, and multi-genre programming. During Guerrero’s tenure, the Symphony increased commissioning and premiere activity and broadened its recording output, while also maintaining education and community initiatives that include year-round youth programming.
The Nashville Symphony’s next several seasons will unfold under a dual structure: an advisory appointment providing near-term artistic continuity and an ongoing process to select the orchestra’s next music director.
Appointment: Leonard Slatkin, Music Advisor, starting 2025–26
Term: three seasons, through 2027–28
Transition: Giancarlo Guerrero’s tenure ends after 2024–25; Laureate title begins 2025–26
Milestone ahead: Schermerhorn Symphony Center’s 20th anniversary in 2026