Omer Meir Wellber appointed new Chief Conductor of BBC Philharmonic (October 2018)

Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber has been appointed as the BBC Philharmonic’s new Chief Conductor. He takes up the post in September 2019 and his initial contract is for four years.

Omer Meir Wellber, 36, will conduct the orchestra in its concert series at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as well as at the BBC Proms in London and on international tours. All the concerts are recorded or broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. He will also give concerts around the North and beyond including in Leeds, Stoke on Trent and Nottingham.

His first appearance at the helm of the BBC Philharmonic will also be his debut at the 2019 season of the BBC Proms in London, and his first Manchester concert as Chief Conductor will be in September 2019.

Commenting on the appointment Simon Webb, General Manager of the BBC Philharmonic says: “Having seen Omer conducting a number of orchestras over the last year I have been fortunate to have experienced his brilliance first hand in a wide range of repertoire. His immediate connection with the BBC Philharmonic was evident in his first concert and we are now delighted to have secured one of the most sought after young conductors of his generation.”

Omer Meir Wellber adds: “I first worked with the BBC Philharmonic in March and knew straight away that they were a very special group of people and exceptional musicians. Manchester and the whole region is an incredibly rich area culturally, so I can hardly wait to start planning seasons to come.”

The BBC Philharmonic is one of the UK’s finest orchestras. It performs its main concert series at the prestigious Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as well as giving live, free concerts in its own international standard recording studio at MediaCityUK in Salford as part of the BBC’s Northern headquarters.