Artistic and Music Director, Palm Beach Symphony
Distinguished Professor Of Music, The Frost School Of Music
Music Director, All-Star Orchestra
Music Director, Eastern Festival of Music
Conductor Laureate, Seattle Symphony
Conductor Emeritus, Mostly Mozart Festival
“To date, Schwarz has premiered over 300 new works, made more than 350 recordings and received no fewer than 14 Grammy nominations, yet he remains a thoroughly down-to-earth, dedicated family man.”
Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming, extensive discography, and lifelong dedication to music education, Gerard Schwarz has built a career spanning more than five decades as a conductor, musician, educator, composer, and champion of new music.
Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic before turning his attention fully to conducting. He went on to lead some of the country’s most distinguished ensembles and festivals, serving as Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, and Waterloo Music Festival, as well as Artistic Advisor to the Tokyo Philharmonic. He has also appeared as a guest conductor with many of the world’s leading orchestras and has conducted extensively in opera, including productions with San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, and Juilliard Opera.
“Schwarz [is] a more dedicated advocate of composers than even Bernstein [was]. ”
His 26-year tenure as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony was a defining chapter in his career. Under his leadership, the orchestra experienced remarkable artistic and institutional growth, with subscriptions increasing from 5,000 to 40,000. Schwarz championed American composers and contemporary music throughout his tenure, culminating in a final season featuring 22 world premieres. He also played a pivotal role in the development of Benaroya Hall, the orchestra’s acclaimed home. In recognition of his contributions, the City of Seattle named the street alongside the hall “Gerard Schwarz Place,” and the State of Washington awarded him the honorary title of “General.”
Schwarz has served as Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony since 2019, leading a transformation in the orchestra's artistic growth. Under his baton, programming has included a balance of masterworks and newer, adventurous works, including eight world premieres, and the Dale A. McNulty Children's Concert Series has earned six Emmy nominations. Over the course of his tenure, with the help of the board of directors, led by James Borynack, and the staff, led by David McClymont, box office receipts have more than tripled and memberships and subscriptions have grown by more than 150%, part of a broader rise in audience engagement across the orchestra's digital platforms.
Schwarz’s commitment to expanding access to orchestral music has been equally central to his work. As Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, an ensemble of leading musicians from orchestras across the United States, he has led 29 programs broadcast on public television and streamed worldwide. Its educational series, created in partnership with the Khan Academy, has reached more than 7 million students. The All-Star Orchestra’s programs have received 11 Emmy Awards and the Deems Taylor Television Broadcast Award from ASCAP.
Recording has been another defining thread throughout Schwarz’s career. His discography now includes more than 350 albums, encompassing collaborations with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Tokyo Philharmonic, and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. His recent projects include a recording of Arthur Foote’s long-forgotten Cello Concerto with cellist Julian Schwarz and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, released by Delos Records.
A passionate advocate for new music, Schwarz has conducted more than 300 world premieres and has consistently championed the work of contemporary composers. As Music Director of the Eastern Festival of Music, he initiated the Bonnie McElveen-Hunter Commissioning Project in 2013, supporting the creation of new works by American composers including John Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, André Previn, HyeKyung Lee, and Lowell Liebermann. He has also commissioned new works to celebrate major milestones at the University of Miami and the Frost School of Music.
Schwarz’s musical interests extend beyond the conductor’s podium. A prolific composer and arranger, he studied with such influential composers as Paul Creston, Roger Sessions, Jacob Druckman, Milton Babbitt, Vincent Persichetti, and Pierre Boulez. His works and arrangements are performed by orchestras worldwide, and his Sinfonietta, commissioned to celebrate the Palm Beach Symphony’s 50th anniversary, received its world premiere in 2023.
Today, Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Festival of Music, Palm Beach Symphony, and Frost Symphony Orchestra. He is Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Distinguished Professor of Music, Conducting, and Orchestral Studies at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.
Over more than five decades, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors, including nine Emmy Awards, 15 GRAMMY® nominations, eight ASCAP Awards, and the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates, including from The Juilliard School. In 2003, The Recording Academy presented him with its first IMPACT Lifetime Achievement Award, and his memoir, Behind the Baton: An American Icon Talks Music, was published in 2017. In 2026, the New York Youth Symphony honored Schwarz with the Theodore L. Kesselman Award for Arts Education, recognizing one of its most notable alumni for the extraordinary impact of his career and his enduring contributions to the arts and cultural life of the United States.
[September 2026]