Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) has announced that conductor Jonathon Heyward will assume the role of Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director of the Lincoln Center Summer Orchestra.

He will take over for Louis Langrée, who served as the Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival and conductor of the Orchestra since 2003.

Heyward will begin his three-year term in the summer of 2024; his responsibilities will include curating the repertoire for Lincoln Center’s summer orchestra, collaborating closely with Chief Artistic Officer Shanta Thake to invite dynamic guest conductors and soloists, and further integrating the orchestra series into the broader Summer for the City festival.

“What an honor it is to be chosen to lead Lincoln Center’s summer orchestra. This orchestra has an incredible legacy, and Louis Langrée’s leadership is an inspiration as I embark on this new chapter of artistic growth with the ensemble. It’s exciting to begin exploring ways to deepen and enhance the orchestral experience for new and existing audiences. I look forward to collaborating with Shanta and these unparalleled musicians as we usher in a new era together,” Heyward said in an official press statement.

Jonathon Heyward is currently Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and also serves as Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany. He also made his New York Philharmonic debut in April 2023.

This summer, Heyward will lead the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra on August 4-5, 2023, at the Wu Tsai Theater in the new David Geffen Hall. The program for these performances will feature Jessie Montgomery’s “Records of a Vanishing City,” Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, and the Barber Violin Concerto featuring violinist Simone Lamsma.