Russell Ger is an Australian conductor based in the USA.

Russell Ger has emerged as one of the leading Australian conductors of his generation, praised for his dynamic musicality, expressive clarity, and compelling artistic vision. He is the winner of the Brian Stacey Memorial Trust Award for Emerging Australian Conductors, the Special Orchestra Prize at the Makris International Conducting Competition in Serbia, and a finalist in the Sir Georg Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition. His repertoire spans orchestral, operatic, and choral masterworks, and his career has taken him across North America, Europe, and his home country.

Mr. Ger serves as Music Director of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra in New York, where he has overseen a period of remarkable artistic and organizational growth. Under his leadership, the orchestra has expanded its season, deepened its community presence, and broadened its repertoire to prominently feature living, female, Asian, Latin American, and African American composers. Audience attendance has surged, performances frequently approach capacity, and the ensemble has become a vibrant cultural force in the Hudson Valley.

A distinctive highlight of Mr. Ger’s career is his extensive collaboration with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman. Together, they toured North America in support of a Sony Classical recording of Jewish art music. Performances included the Hollywood Bowl with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic before an audience of 10,000; the Barclays Center in New York for 6,000; and sold-out appearances at the Boca Raton Arts Festival, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Long Island, and Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall. The project also generated a nationally broadcast PBS Special.

Mr. Ger received his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from The Boston Conservatory, where he graduated at the top of his class. He is also a proud alumnus of Symphony Australia, the country’s premier conductor-training program. Through four consecutive years of intensive, weeklong residencies, he worked closely with the Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, gaining invaluable experience with Australia’s finest musicians.

A devoted advocate for music education, Mr. Ger spent nearly a decade conducting the Norwalk Youth Symphony in Connecticut, mentoring hundreds of young musicians. He is an active champion of public musical engagement, delivering dozens of multimedia lectures each year to audiences ranging from schoolchildren to senior executives. He is a recurring speaker for the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), has served as musical curator and emcee for major Pfizer events, and has been engaged for commercial and filmed projects, including work with Fenty Beauty.

Mr. Ger lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kirsten Hicks, and their two children.