Jacksonville Symphony Conductors

Anchored in the belief that music holds the power to transform lives, Courtney Lewis has established himself as one of his generation’s most dynamic conductors. Currently in his 11^th season as Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony, Lewis has designed an ambitious mission to enrich the surrounding community with innovative symphonic programming, creating the highest quality of art possible, accessible to all.

The Florida-Times Union has noted [that] “it’s beyond debate that Lewis has been a transformative figure...leading the [Jacksonville] Symphony.” Under Lewis’s leadership, the artistic caliber has improved considerably, and the symphony has grown in size and national reputation, recently making its first broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today.

Deeply committed to new music, Lewis has worked with many of today's leading composers. In Jacksonville, recent and upcoming commissions include works by Carlos Simon, Sean Shepherd, Tarik O'Regan, Courtney Bryan, and Conrad Tao. In May 2023, Lewis made his debut at the Opéra national de Paris Ballet, conducting Thomas Adès’s Dante.

Nathaniel Efthimiou is the Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and Music Director of Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras since the 2024/25 Season. He previously served as Assistant Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Music at Berklee College of Music. He is a four-time recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award and was recently selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic as the AAF/Faber Young Conductor Fellowship (formerly the Karajan Fellowship) at the Salzburg Festival. He was a semi-finalist in the 2nd Hong Kong International Conducting Competition 2023.