Andrew Grams most recently led the North Carolina Symphony for a streaming concert in 2021 featuring Mozart's Symphony No. 33 and Copland's Suite from Appalachian Spring.
American conductor Andrew Grams, winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras, became Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013 and recently concluded his tenure there after eight seasons.
Grams has led orchestras throughout the United States including the National Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, and Baltimore. A frequent traveler, he has worked with orchestras abroad including the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, the Orchestre National de France, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Het Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands. He has led multiple performances of New York City Ballet’s George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and the first performances of the new production of The Nutcracker for the Norwegian National Ballet in Olso.
Born in Severn, Maryland, Grams began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999 he received a Bachelor’s degree in violin performance from The Juilliard School, and in 2003 he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. He was selected to spend the summer of 2003 at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen and returned to that program in 2004. He served as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser-Möst, and has since returned for several engagements.
As a violinist, Grams was a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra from 1998-2004, serving as acting associate principal second violin in 2002 and 2004. Additionally, he has performed with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony.
