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.

Randall Goosby began violin studies at the age of 7 and made his solo debut with the Jacksonville (FL) Symphony at age 9. At the age of 13, Randall was the youngest participant ever to win the Sphinx Concerto Competition. He is a recipient of Sphinx’s Isaac Stern Award and has made two appearances at Carnegie Hall as part of the organization’s Young Artist Development Program. The New York Times raved that in his Carnegie Hall debut performance of Ysaye Solo Sonata No. 3, he “exerted a masterly level of control and lavished an exquisite tone…his performance won him a deserved standing ovation for its sheer virtuosity.”

Randall has been featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top,” and he has been honored as a Rising Star of the Stradivari Society. Randall was a prize winner at the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, leading to his addition to the artist roster of Young Classical Artists Trust in London. As YCAT’s inaugural Robey Artist, in partnership with London Music Masters, Randall mentors and works closely with young musicians in schools around the UK. He is also a recipient of a career advancement grant from the Bagby Foundation. He has spent his summers studying at the Perlman Music Program, Verbier Festival Academy, and Mozarteum Summer Academy, among others.

As a soloist, Randall has performed widely throughout the USA, having appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has also given recitals at such venues as the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Kaufman Center (New York City), and Wigmore Hall (London).

In addition to his concerts, Randall shares his love of music through community engagement programs for public schools, children’s hospitals, and music programs across the USA.  Through Concerts in Motion, a non-profit organization in New York City, he provides private house concerts for elderly and otherwise homebound patrons. In addition, he gives private virtual performances for COVID-19 patients through Project Music Heals Us.

Randall received a full scholarship to The Juilliard School’s Pre-College program and has earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from Juilliard under the tutelage of violinists Itzhak Perlman, Catherine Cho, Laurie Smukler, and Donald Weilerstein. He is now pursuing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard, where he will continue his studies with Mr. Perlman and Ms. Cho. Randall was a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship throughout his collegiate studies at Juilliard.

He currently plays on a Guarneri del Gesu (1735) on generous loan from the Stradivari Society.