Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020-2021 season. He kicked off his tenure as DSO Music Director with the launch of DSO Digital Concerts in September 2020, conducting works by Copland, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Georges. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the season ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.

In December, Jader returned to Detroit to lead a triumphant performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Strauss’s Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”. He will return in May 2021 to conduct four programs including performances with violinist Midori and pianist Orli Shaham.

A native of Crema, Italy, Jader studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.

In the years since, Jader has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatoreand Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.

When Jader leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.

Principal Trumpet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Hunter Eberly is a native of Muskegon, Michigan. Hunter started playing the trumpet at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his mother, and he continued his studies in high school with Charley Lea of the Grand Rapids Symphony. He attended Grand Valley State University, where he studied with Richard Stoelzel and earned his Bachelor of Music degree. Hunter continued his education by attending The Colburn School in Los Angeles. There, he studied with James Wilt of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and earned a Professional Studies Certificate.

Hunter has performed as Guest Principal Trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Grand Rapids Symphony. He has also served as principal trumpet of the Jacksonville Symphony and the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, and has performed and toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to classical playing, Hunter enjoys playing many other genres of music. Most notably, he has performed with a large number of Motown’s greatest performers including Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The 4 Tops, and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

As a soloist, Hunter has performed numerous times with the DSO, including concerti by Tomasi, Haydn, Arutunian, and Telemann. His 2016 performances of the John Williams Trumpet Concerto were recorded and are to be released on the Naxos label.

Hunter has won several awards including first prize in the National Trumpet Competition Undergraduate Solo Competition, first prize in the National Trumpet Competition Trumpet Ensemble division, and second prize in the International Trumpet Guild Mock Orchestra Competition.

Hunter has a passion for teaching and is currently Lecturer of Trumpet at The University of Michigan. There he teaches private lessons and an orchestral repertoire class. Hunter has also taught the trumpet studios at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, and he has given masterclasses and recitals at conservatories and universities throughout North America. Hunter maintains a small private teaching studio and regularly coaches college students and young professionals in audition preparation. 

Hunter lives on Grosse Ile with his wife Kim, their two children, and two dogs. When he is not playing the trumpet, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and being in the outdoors.

Hunter is a Yamaha Performing Artist.