Juraj Valčuha

Music Director, Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair, Houston Symphony

Speaking at Opening Session and Gold Baton Award

Conductor Juraj Valčuha is recognized for his effortless expressiveness and depth of musicianship. Since June 2022, Valčuha has been music director of the Houston Symphony. Previously, he was music director of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples and first guest conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin from 2016-2022, as well as chief conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI from 2009-2016.

Including his concerts in Houston, his 2023-24 Season takes him to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo, RAI Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Bavarian State Opera, and the Semperoper Dresden, among others. A selection of Valčuha’s past guest conducting engagements include orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the New York Philharmonic, in addition to numerous others.

Valčuha champions the compositions of living composers and aims to program contemporary pieces in most of his concerts. He has conducted world premieres including Christopher Rouses’s Supplica with the Pittsburgh Symphony; Steven Mackey’s violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz and the BBC Symphony; and Nico Muhly’s Bright Idea with the Houston Symphony.

Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, Juraj studied composition and conducting in his birthplace, then in St. Petersburg as well as Paris.