American conductor Na’Zir McFadden is the Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
McFadden also serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. Together they’ll present three programs—exploring the masterworks of Sibelius, Schubert, Beethoven, Takashi Yoshimatsu and Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Establishing his presence on the classical music scene, the 2024/25 season includes debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, and The No Name Pops (formerly the Philly Pops) at Marian Anderson Hall in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. He’ll also return to the New Mexico Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Ballet, in addition to several engagements with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
This past summer McFadden was invited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra as one of two 2024 Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellows. As a fellow, he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in numerous performances, and participated in masterclasses led by Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert, Thomas Wilkins, and Dima Slobodeniouk.
In the 2022-23 season, he made his subscription debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, alongside bass-baritone Devóne Tines and clarinetist Anthony McGill. In March of 2024, he conducted the DSO’s Classical Roots program, premiering two new works by composers Billy Childs and Shelly Washington.
Other career highlights have included debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Ballet. Additionally, McFadden led a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago—featuring Hilary Hahn as co-collaborator and soloist.
In 2020, McFadden was named the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet; a position he held until 2022. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021.
At the age of 16, Na’Zir conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin who has been a mentor ever since. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their concert review.
