Nashville Symphony music director Giancarlo Guerrero will step down — but not before one more season

After more than a decade at the helm of the Nashville Symphony, music director Giancarlo Guerrero is stepping down.

Guerrero became music director of the symphony for the 2009-2010 season, and has helped lead the group through difficult times, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Guerrero told WPLN News in a 2022 interview the experience proved the symphony’s strength.

“Even after the pandemic, even after all of those challenges that we’re still getting out of, we never stopped our mission. And that to me is the thing that makes me the most proud,” he said. “We don’t stop. We’re moving forward. Music is a living organism and our audience, our musicians, our composers … everybody deserves it.”

Under his leadership, the Nashville Symphony has commissioned and premiered over a dozen new works, including collaborations with artists like Ben Folds, Bela Fleck and more.

And in his time as music director, the orchestra has been awarded 11 Grammys for live-recorded commercial albums.

The symphony says Guerrero will step down at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season and will then spend two years as music director laureate, during which he will return to lead the orchestra four weeks per year.

A committee comprised from the board of directors, musician, administrative, and volunteer leadership will search for a successor.

Guerrero was born in Nicaragua and moved as a child to Costa Rica, where he got involved with a youth symphony. One part of his legacy is teaching several youth orchestras, including the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program.