After 20 fantastic years with the Billings Symphony, Vincent W. & Janet M. Carpenter Music Director, Anne Harrigan, is retiring at the end of this 75th season. Succeeding this announcement in September of 2024, the Billings Symphony’s Music Director Search Committee has been working behind the scenes to find our next Music Director. After various rounds of interviews and heavy deliberation, we are pleased to announce your 6 Music Director Finalists.
Eric Garcia, praised for his “elegant and expressive” conducting, currently serves as Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic and Artistic Director and Conductor of the McCall MusicFest in Idaho. He previously held the role of Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, where he led subscription, education, pops, and community concerts, and served as producer for several Naxos recordings. Garcia is deeply committed to music education; he has served as Associate Conductor of the Eastern Music Festival and on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival Conducting Institute and has been a clinician for high school orchestras nationwide.
Known for his creative programming and inviting stage presence, Taiwanese-American conductor Wilbur Lin’s career has taken him to symphony halls and opera theaters across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Taiwan. Lin is currently the music director of the Missouri Symphony and associate conductor of the Colorado Symphony. A graduate of Riccardo Muti’s Italian Opera Academy, Lin’s operatic endeavors include conducting Verdi’s Macbeth at Teatro Alighieri, Die Zauberflöte and Barber of Seville with the Winter Harbor Music Festival, and has coached and performed as a pianist with the Indianapolis Opera, Reimagining Opera for Kids, and the Cincinnati Ballet.
A name many may recognize after he readily stepped in to conduct Song For Humanity in February 2024, our next Music Director Candidate is Tristan Rais-Sherman. He is rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting musicians of his generation, celebrated for his collaborative spirit, creativity, and joyful music-making. A three-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, he is known for his emotional directness and clarity on the podium and is committed to broadening the appeal of classical music by telling human stories in ways that everyone can immediately grasp.
Powerfully compelling, Deanna Tham is known for her captivating and tenacious spirit on and off the podium. She is currently the Associate Conductor with the Oregon Symphony and Music Director of the Union Symphony Orchestra. Previously, she served as Assistant Conductor with the Omaha Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and Principal Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras. Tham is equally at home with a variety of musical genres—projects include full-feature blockbuster movie scores, collaborations with Cirque Musica, Broadway artists, pop cover groups like Jeans ’n Classics, and independent artists like silent film accompanist, Ben Model.
Jacob Joyce, currently serving as the Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, is quickly gaining recognition as a dynamic and innovative presence on the podium. An avid promoter of contemporary music, he has conducted several premieres of orchestral and operatic works. Mr. Joyce is also an advocate for bringing classical music to new audiences. He is the host and creator of the podcast Attention to Detail: The Classical Music Listening Guide, which provides people of all backgrounds with techniques for listening to classical music.
Described by Yannick Nézet-Séguin as “a musician who lives the music”, American conductor Conner Gray Covington performs an unusually broad repertory of symphonic, opera, and film repertoire ranging from Classical to the present day. During his tenure with the Utah Symphony, Conner conducted nearly 300 performances of classical subscription, education, film, pops, and family concerts as well as tours throughout the state and has returned several times each season as a guest conductor since 2021. In the 2025-2026 season, Covington debuts with the Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony, Houston Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, and Phoenix Symphony.
Next season, each candidate will conduct one Billings Symphony Classic Series Concert, during the regular September-April season. The winner will be announced at the finale concert in April of 2027, their first performance as the official Billings Symphony Music Director will be Symphony in the Park 2027.
