Anchored in the belief that music holds the power to transform lives, Courtney Lewis is currently in his tenth season as Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony, where he has designed an ambitious mission to enrich the surrounding community with innovative symphonic programming, creating the highest quality of art possible, accessible to all. 

Deeply committed to new music, Lewis has worked with many of today’s leading composers. In Jacksonville, recent and upcoming commissions include works byCarlos Simon, Sean Shepherd, Tarik O’Regan, Courtney Bryan and Conrad Tao. InMay 2023, Lewis made his debut at the Opéra national de Paris, conducting Thomas Adès’ Dante.  

In recent seasons, Lewis has made debuts with the Nürnberger Symphoniker, Hallé, San Diego Symphony, Aspen Music Festival and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led the Australian Youth Orchestra on tour and the Minnesota Opera in their revival production and Naxos’ recording of Silent Night, composed by Kevin Puts, and made his debut at the Hollywood Bowl. Upcoming engagements include debuts with the Charlotte Symphony, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Orchestre National de l'Île de France, and Georges Enescu Philharmonic in Bucarest, as well as a return to the Springfield Symphony where he appeared this season gaining an immediate re-invitation.  

Lewis has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, among many other high-profile orchestras. He served as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra and Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 2008 to 2014, Lewis was also the Music Director of Boston’s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble, a chamber orchestra dedicated to giving concerts of contemporary and established repertoire at the highest level of musical excellence, while also bringing live music into the underprivileged parts of Boston through workshops in local schools.   

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