CONDUCTOR
Awadagin Pratt is an acclaimed conductor, pianist, and educator whose career spans more than three decades of musical leadership and performance. Currently Principal Conductor of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra in Dayton, Ohio, Pratt is recognized for his dynamic musicality, collaborative approach, and stylistic range across symphonic, operatic, and contemporary repertoire.
Pratt has led orchestras throughout the U.S. and internationally, including the Tokyo City Philharmonic, Georgian Philharmonic (Tbilisi), Winston-Salem Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Toledo Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, and Eastern Music Festival. His programming spans Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, Mahler, and Tchaikovsky to modern composers such as Jessie Montgomery, Christophe Chagnard, Arvo Pärt, and Ornette Coleman.
Since 2023, Pratt has led the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra through an ambitious and wide-ranging season of performances, including The Sound of Music, Notes of Love, holiday concerts with the Gem City Ballet, and major symphonic works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and Pärt. His programming bridges the traditional and the modern with depth and accessibility.
go to full bio & press kit >>“one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time”
WGBH
“Awadagin Pratt conducted Greensboro Opera Orchestra with great care. He was engaged with the singer(s) and treated each piece with a level of individuality. This made for a united performance between the singers and orchestra.
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“Débuting as a conductor of opera, acclaimed pianist Awadagin Pratt demonstrated deft handling of the jazz rhythms that frolic in Gershwin’s music. Pratt’s pacing of the performance accentuated the score’s modernity, emphasizing the piquancy of the harmonies.”
Pratt’s 2022 operatic conducting debut with Porgy and Bess at Greensboro Opera drew critical praise. OperaWire wrote that he “conducted Greensboro Opera Orchestra with great care,” noting his engagement with the singers and the “level of individuality” he brought to each piece and Voix des Arts praised his “deft handling of the jazz rhythms that frolic in Gershwin’s music. In concert repertoire, Pratt has continued to win praise for his clarity and drive on the podium. Following his 2024 performance of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Symphony No. 8 with the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described his interpretation as “energetic and cohesive.”
His conducting education began at the University of Illinois and continued at the Peabody Conservatory of Music under Frederik Prausnitz. He further honed his craft through study with Gunther Schuller; at the National Conducting Institute under Leonard Slatkin, where he led the National Symphony Orchestra; and through private mentorship with Lorin Maazel for three years.
An award-winning concert pianist, Pratt also performs as a soloist-conductor, having appeared in that dual role for works by Mozart and Beethoven in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
He is currently on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
go to full bio & press pack >>“[Pratt] led with minimal fuss while bringing exciting sounds from the orchestra.”
Cultural Voice of North Carolina