Kansas City Symphony Extends Music Director Through 2033-34 Season
By David Salazar(Photo Credti: Daniel Dittus)
The Kansas City Symphony has announced a five-year contract extension for Music Director Matthias Pintscher, keeping him in the role through the 2033-34 season.
“The Kansas City Symphony is truly a special and remarkable orchestra with a wide-open mindset, and I feel honored to share a chosen family with them,” Pintscher, whose tenure began in 2024-25, said, per an official press release. “I am immensely proud of the work that we’ve done together, and I am grateful for the trust of the musicians, board, staff and community. I look forward to continuing our work together with curiosity, energy, and a shared sense of purpose and belonging for our inspiring community.”
During his tenure, Pintscher has appointed 10 new musicians, including three principals, and granted tenure to five musicians hired prior to his arrival. Moreover, in May 2026, the orchestra gave the world premiere of a 60-minute work inspired by the seven days of creation in Genesis, composed by seven different composers. Pintscher also led the orchestra on a European tour in 2024, with concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. A second European tour, with stops in the Netherlands and Germany, is scheduled for this fall.
“In three years of working closely alongside Matthias, I can tell you that he embodies love,” added Kansas City Symphony President and CEO Danny Beckley. “He loves our musicians, he loves our audiences, he loves our city, and we love him back. Matthias is a very special musician, but more than this, he is a very special man. That we have attracted him to Kansas City is a testament to the people who live here, to our city’s warm, personal culture, and to the incredible ways that this community invests in music.”
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