Israeli-American conductor Ilya Ram is Music Director of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. Born in New York, raised in Israel, and trained in Germany, he has built a musical life between cultures, spanning symphonic repertoire, opera, and new music. His work is grounded in close attention to sound and long-range pacing, seeking expressive spontaneity within a clearly shaped structure.
Ram’s programs often place familiar repertoire in dialogue with overlooked composers and new music, using historical, musical, or thematic connections to give audiences a point of entry into lesser-known works while bringing a different perspective to established repertoire.
At the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, this approach informs Unspoken: Our Stories Through Sound, an ambitious three-season project exploring Reflection, Moments, and Destiny. Ram combines major symphonic repertoire with contemporary music and commissions from Chattanooga composers, developing the project in partnership with artists and cultural organizations across the city.
Ram is as comfortable in the pit as on the concert stage. His relationship with Theater Chemnitz began as an assistant and later led to an invitation to return as Guest Resident Conductor for three projects, including Zimmermann’s Weiße Rose and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. He made his Semperoper Dresden debut with the world premiere of Zad Moultaka’s Drei Miese, fiese Kerle and returned for the revival of the production. As a member of the Akademie Musiktheater Heute, he conducted the premieres of three new operas with Ensemble Modern. His continuing relationship with the IMPULS Festival for Contemporary Music has led to four appearances.
As a guest conductor, he has led the Szczecin Philharmonic, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Robert Schumann Philharmonic, Magdeburg Philharmonic, Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, Orquestra do Algarve, and Ra’anana Symphonette, among others. Recent distinctions include a 2026 Career Assistance Award from The Solti Foundation U.S. In 2022, he was a finalist and received the Audience Prize at the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Monte Carlo.
He graduated cum laude from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv before earning his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden and completing the Advanced Professional Training for Conductors at the Berlin University of the Arts.