The ‘Converse Conductor’ Fighting Elitism in Classical Music
Jonathon Heyward wears sneakers onstage and embraces genres like jazz as part of his effort to bring more people into the concert hall. Read the article in full in the New York Times (behind pay wall).
Washingtonian Interview
Conductor Jonathon Heyward on Converse Sneakers, Reality TV, and the Future of the BSO Written by Andrew Beaujon If you ask Jonathon Heyward how his new gig is going, he’ll reply, “Which one?” An entirely fair answer from a guy who in the last few years has become...
Baltimore Fishbowl Interview
by Aliza Worthington Jonathon Heyward is blazing musical trails across Europe and the United States, and fortunately for our city, has chosen Baltimore as his primary musical home as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra starting with their 2023-24...
Charleston City Paper Interview
The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra series will present an impressive lineup of world-renowned conductors and early-career musicians at the Charleston Gaillard Center in the coming week for what is bound to be a highlight of the summer once again. John Kennedy,...
Baltimore Sun Article: BSO announces details of Jonathon Heyward’s first season as music director in Baltimore
Even as a high school student in South Carolina, Jonathon Heyward dreamed of leading an American orchestra. He wanted to make concerts “more welcoming and homey” and “a fun and enjoying experience for both the musicians on stage and the audience below.” Thirteen years...
KDHX Review
Symphony Review: A dazzling evening of music old and new by the SLSO The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presented an utterly dazzling evening last Friday and Saturday (October 7 and 8). As usual, their program treated us to unfamiliar pieces before diving into the pièce...
Strings Magazine Feature
New Conductorships Signal Change in the Orchestral World Baltimore Symphony CEO Mark Hanson is thrilled to have found Jonathon Heyward. “Once chemistry is discovered, things can happen very quickly. Jonathon made his BSO debut in March substituting in a program of...
The Truth In This Art Interview
Q&A with conductor Jonathon Heyward Jonathon Heyward is forging a career as one of the most exciting conductors on the international scene. He currently serves as Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and will begin his five-year...
Baltimore Sun Article
‘Baltimore is in for an adventure’: Newly named BSO music director Jonathon Heyward makes Lincoln Center debut with ‘rock star’ performance By Mary Carole McCauley NEW YORK — Jonathon Heyward, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s new music director designate, recently...
Baltimore Sun Feature
Five things to know about Jonathon Heyward, the BSO’s newly appointed music director.
New York Times Article
Baltimore Symphony’s New Conductor Breaks a Racial Barrier Jonathon Heyward is the first person of color to be the orchestra’s music director in its 106-year history. Read the article in full (behind pay wall)
Washington Post Article
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra names Jonathon Heyward music director. The 29-year-old rising star becomes the first person of color to lead the 106-year-old orchestra.
Baltimore Sun Article
Jonathon Heyward named BSO music director, replacing Marin Alsop and becoming only Black conductor to helm major U.S. symphony orchestra Jonathon Heyward, the 29-year-old classical music phenom whose skill on the conductor’s podium has generated international...
New York Observer interview
Conducting Phenom Jonathon Heyward Makes His North American Debut Tour Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Jonathon Heyward took time to sit down with Observer to discuss his ongoing US tour. By Annie Levin Conductor Jonathon Heyward, a rising star in...
Atlanta Journal Constitution interview
Jonathon Heyward revisits childhood fascination with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra By Jon Ross, For the AJC Guest conductor returns to the scene of a memory that had a “profound effect” on his life. Conductor Jonathon Heyward can still see the colors, the brilliant...
Five Star Guardian Review for BBC Proms Debut
Flora Willson gave Jonathon Heyward's BBC Proms debut a glowing five star review in The Guardian. She wrote: “Jessie Montgomery’s Banner provided an equivalent opportunity for Technicolor funk and forward drive, compressing and refracting the Star-Spangled...
The Scotsman Review: SCO, Jonathan Heyward, Ana Quintans & Julien Van Mellaerts, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
SCO, Jonathan Heyward, Ana Quintans & Julien Van Mellaerts, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh ***** This was a high-risk, high-concept concert, shuffling together the five movements of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and 12 of Mahler’s song settings from Des Knaben Wunderhorn in...
Die Zeit Interview
Jonathon Heyward: "Ein Konzertabend ist spannender als Netflix" Jonathon Heyward ist seit 2021 Chefdirigent der Nordwestdeutschen Philharmonie. Wie verändert seine Perspektive das Orchester? Der Dirigent Jonathon Heyward will klassische Musik zugänglicher machen. Denn...
The Arts Desk BBC Proms Review
Rising star conductor Jonathon Heyward has earned rapturous acclaim for his BBC Proms debut on 7 August. Leading the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and violinist Nicola Benedetti. The Arts Desk’s Boyd Tonkin applauds, “Heyward’s assured, even audacious,...
Classical Source BBC Proms Review
Rising star conductor Jonathon Heyward has earned rapturous acclaim for his BBC Proms debut on 7 August. Leading the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and violinist Nicola Benedetti. Nick Breckenfield in Classical Source writes, “What followed was a tremendous...