Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the seasons 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, Bignamini 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 returned again in May 2021 to conduct four programs including performances with violinist Midori and pianist Orli Shaham.

A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini 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, Bignamini 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 Bignamini 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.

Alexandra Dariescu, creator of The Nutcracker and I, is a trailblazing pianist who demonstrates fearless curiosity in performing diverse and thought-provoking programs; from the staples of Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, and Ravel to the exquisite concerto works by Clara Schumann, Nadia Boulanger, George Enescu, and Florence Price, Dariescu stands out as an original voice in the international pianistic scene.

In demand as a soloist worldwide, Dariescu has performed with eminent orchestras such as Orchestre National de France, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo and Copenhagen philharmonics, and the Sydney, Houston, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Vancouver symphony orchestras. The list of conductors she has worked with includes Ádám Fischer, Cristian Măcelaru, Alain Altinoglu, Sakari Oramo, John Storgårds, Fabien Gabel, Vasily Petrenko, Ryan Bancroft, James Gaffigan, and JoAnn Falletta.

In the 2024–25 season, Dariescu makes her debut with the Seattle Symphony under the baton of Tianyi Lu. She then embarks on an Australian tour alongside Fabien Gabel, making her debut with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and returning to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In Scandinavia, Dariescu makes debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Danish Philharmonic Orchestras, whereas in the UK, she gives subscription concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Two significant highlights further complement Dariescu’s season: her debut with the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the LSO Discovery series in the education project "Count Me In", and her participation as presenter at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition, where she supports "the Alexandra Dariescu Award for an outstanding performance of a piece by a female composer", the first time for such an accolade to be introduced in an international competition.

In 2017, Dariescu took the world by storm with her piano recital production The Nutcracker and I, an original ground-breaking multimedia performance for piano solo with dance and digital animation. It has since enjoyed international acclaim and drawn thousands of young audiences into concert halls across Europe, Australia, China, the Emirates, and the US, realizing Dariescu’s vision of building bridges and making classical music more accessible to the wider public. The 2024–25 season celebrates the project’s 100th performance at Barbican Centre’s Milton Court. Further presentations will take place in Paris at La Seine Musicale, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Opéra de Dijon, Megaron Athens Concert Hall, and the Macao International Music Festival. Testament to her ethos of championing a more inclusive repertoire, recent milestones in Dariescu’s career include opening the 2023–24 season for the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sakari Oramo in the UK premiere of Dora Pejačević’s Phantasie Concertante. Last season, Dariescu also gave the world premiere of the new piano concerto Shades of Unbroken Dreams with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, written for her by James Lee III in honor of the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In 2022, Dariescu made the world premiere recording of a newly discovered piano concerto by Leokadiya Kashperova (1900) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for BBC Radio 3.

Dariescu has released nine albums to critical acclaim, the latest disc being the Clara Schumann and Grieg Piano Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Tianyi Lu. Her discography includes a Decca album with Angela Gherghiu and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Dariescu has been mentored by Sir András Schiff and Dame Imogen Cooper. A Laureate at the Verbier Festival Academy, she received the UK’s Women of the Future Award in the Arts and Culture category. In 2020, Dariescu received the Order 'Cultural Merit' in the rank of Knight by the Romanian President and became an Associated Member of the RNCM, where she also held the position of Professor of Piano for two years. From September 2024, Dariescu assumes the role of Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.