American conductor to lead Belgian national orchestra

The American Hugh Wolff has been named as the new head conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra with effect from next year. Wolff takes over from Andrey Boreyko, who has served five years.

Wolff comes to Brussels from Frankfurt, where he has been head conductor of the symphony orchestra since 1997. He was previously musical director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota.

He has also served as guest conductor for orchestras across America, as well as in the UK, France, Japan, Canada and Australia.

He was born to American parents in Paris and grew up in Washington and London. He studied piano and composition, as well as attending Harvard, where he learned conducting, and studied composition under Olivier Messiaen in Paris.

Wolff is known for his creative programming, with programmes that place very different and challenging works alongside each other, and also for his passion in bringing young people into the concert hall for symphonic music. He was a guest conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra for the first time in 2010 and has also worked for De Munt and in Antwerp.

Photo courtesy Hugh Wolff