The Ulster Orchestra has announced that German-Colombian conductor Anna Handler will succeed Daniele Rustioni as Chief Conductor from September 2026.
Handler, a former Gustavo Dudamel Fellow and current Assistant Conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra – where just last week she made her subscription series debut at short notice – also began her tenure as Kapellmeister of Deutsche Oper Berlin in September 2025. She joins a venerable list of conductors who have worked with the Ulster Orchestra – based in Belfast, Northern Ireland – including Vernon Handley, Bryden Thomson, Yan Pascal Tortelier and, more recently, Rafael Payare and Daniele Rustioni.
Handler grew up in Munich and initially studied piano and conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich before continuing her studies at the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar, the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola and the Folkwang University of the Arts. She completed her master's degree in conducting at the Juilliard School in New York in May 2023. At Juilliard, she was the first conductor ever to receive the prestigious Kovner Fellowship.
“Over the next three years, we’ll ask what it means to be an orchestra that belongs to now: alive, questioning, connected,” said Handler. “I feel deeply honoured to lead this journey – together, with the Ulster Orchestra musicians and the wider team. I feel grateful for their trust to have been chosen as their new chief conductor – a responsibility I carry with joy and curiosity.”
The Ulster Orchestra is also excited for this new phase of its development. “Of Anna’s many remarkable qualities, her ability to genuinely connect with musicians and audiences is what makes this such an exciting appointment,” says Auveen Sands, Ulster Orchestra Chief Executive. “That ability was immediately evident in a recent concert in Derry~Londonderry’s Guildhall, bringing a new energy and collaborative spirit to the Ulster Orchestra’s superb music making. We’ve already agreed on some exciting and deeply meaningful programmes for next year, and can’t wait to share them with audiences in Northern Ireland, and beyond.”
Anna Handler is one of our German Editor's pick of ten young artists to watch in 2025/26. Read the article here (in German).
