Marin Alsop Takes Artistic Directorship of Vienna's Webern Chamber Philharmonic

Marin Alsop has been appointed Artistic Director of the Webern Chamber Philharmonic, the training orchestra of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW).

The appointment places one of the world's most prominent conductors at the head of an ensemble built for musicians at the start of their careers. Founded in 2015, the Webern Chamber Philharmonic exists to help aspiring orchestral players at MDW make the transition into professional life. Participation is open to current students and recent graduates who qualify either through outstanding academic achievement or a competitive audition.

The chamber orchestra draws additional strength from MDW's larger Webern Symphony Orchestra, which regularly works with leading conductors of the present day.

MDW presented Alsop's appointment as both an artistic and an institutional coup. In placing a world-renowned conductor at the helm of a student orchestra, the university argued, the move underscores its world-class standing and international reputation. In the new arrangement, Alsop and the Webern Chamber Philharmonic will jointly act as ambassadors for mdw.

Ulrike Sych, Rector of MDW, framed the appointment in sweeping terms. "The fact that world-renowned conductor Marin Alsop is taking on the artistic leadership of our Webern Chamber Philharmonic is an enormous benefit to our students and a powerful signal extending far beyond mdw," Sych said in a statement.

She continued: "Marin Alsop stands, like few others, for the combination of artistic excellence and social engagement, for the courage to forge new paths, and for a vision of leadership that sees the intentional development of others as a fundamental responsibility."

Sych's words point to the profile that has defined Alsop's career: a conductor repeatedly associated with institutional firsts, mentorship programs and music-education initiatives alongside major international posts.

For the young musicians of the Webern Chamber Philharmonic, the appointment means direct artistic contact with a conductor of Alsop's standing at a formative stage — precisely the bridge between study and professional employment that the orchestra was created in 2015 to provide.

How Alsop will shape the ensemble's programming and profile in her first season as Artistic Director remains to be seen; her joint ambassadorial role with the orchestra signals that MDW intends the partnership to carry the university's name well beyond Vienna.