By Daniel Buckwalter

Eugene Symphony aficionados, get ready for a shock of hair as well as relentless and unabashed joy on the podium.

Alex Prior — a 32-year-old British native who was the first of five finalists to audition for the Eugene Symphony’s vacant music director position and conducted the symphony on Oct. 24, 2024 — was appointed on March 13, 2025, as the new music director of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra.

He replaces Francesco Lecce-Chong to become Eugene Symphony’s ninth music director, and he starts work on a four-year contract in the 2025-26 season, the symphony’s 60th season.

A prodigy of sorts, Prior has previously worked as an assistant conductor of the Seattle Symphony (appointed at age 17) years and went on to serve as music director of the Edmonton Symphony (appointed at age 22 years). He also has served as guest conductor of various large symphonies such as the San Francisco, Detroit and Dallas orchestras as well as symphonies in Europe and Asia.

Dave Moss, executive director of Eugene Symphony, noted in a press release announcing the appointment that Prior checked all the boxes for his work with musicians and in the community.

“We are electrified to welcome Alex as the new music director of the Eugene Symphony,”
Moss says. “From our earliest conversations, it was clear that Alex and I share a deep commitment to innovation, artistic excellence and expanding the Symphony’s impact in our community.”

In the Oct. 24, 2024 concert, Prior led Eugene Symphony through pieces by Modest Mussorgsky and Florence Price as well as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major.

He was thrilling — almost mesmerizing — to watch. He used every inch of the podium to engage the orchestra, dancing with the folk beats of Dvořák’s piece and punctuating the staccato notes with a fist. It was a command performance.

“I am deeply touched and honored to be joining the Eugene Symphony as its new music
director, starting with a rousing and uplifting season celebrating the orchestra’s incredible
artistry and quality, and the great people who are its essence,” Prior says.

The Eugene Symphony will announce details of its 2025-26 season on March 20. 2025.