Na’Zir McFadden

conductor

American conductor Na’Zir McFadden is the Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, under the guidance of Music Director Jader Bignamini. McFadden also serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. 

Establishing his presence on the classical music scene, McFadden’s 2023/24 season includes debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and a return to the Philadelphia Ballet; he will also serve as a guest cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in addition to maintaining several ongoing engagements with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. 

The Boston Symphony Orchestra recently announced McFadden as one of the 2024 TMC Conducting Fellows. As a fellow, McFadden will conduct the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in numerous performances and participate in masterclasses led by Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert, and Dima Slobodeniouk. 

In the 2022/23 season, he made his subscription debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, alongside bass-baritone Devóne Tines and clarinetist Anthony McGill. In March 2024, he will conduct the DSO’s Classical Roots program, premiering two new works by composers Billy Childs and
Shelly Washington.

Other career highlights have included debuts with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Ballet. Additionally, McFadden led a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago—featuring Hilary Hahn as co-collaborator and soloist.

In 2020, McFadden was named the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet, a position he held until 2022. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021.

At the age of 16, Na’Zir conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has been a mentor ever since. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their concert review.