The English orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra has announced that Kirill Karabits will step down as Chief Conductor.

Karabits will leave his post during the summer of 2024 after completing 15 years with the orchestra.

The conductor the BSO’s second longest-serving chief conductor after its founder Sir Dan Godfrey. He will become Bournemouth’s conductor laureate, artistic director, Voices from the East.

Under his direction the orchestra performed cycles of music by Beethoven, Brahms, and Prokofiev, and gave UK premieres of works from CPE Bach to contemporary music from Azerbaijan. He also championed music from both Eastern Europe and Karabits’ native Ukraine through their ongoing series “Voices from the East.”

Through performances and a series of recordings for Chandos, audiences have been introduced to music from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine, with composers Kara Karayev, Boris Lyatoshynsky, Chary Nurymov, and Avet Terterian.

He also engaged such soloists as Sunwook Kim, Nicola Benedetti, James Ehnes, Catherine Foster, Steven Isserlis, and Robert Levin.