Musical America features Christian Reif on his newly appointed position as Music Director of Lakes Area Music Festival

Two Conductors: One New, One Extended
By Nicholas Beard
Musical America
May 13, 2021

In his first music directorship, conductor Christian Reif takes the artistic helm of Minnesota’s Lakes Area Music Festival, effective immediately. The festival, founded in 2009 and based in Brainerd, MN, runs July 30-August 22, an assemblage of professional and young artists in chamber, orchestral, and, this season, opera performances. Reif, former resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, has participated in past summers and now becomes the Festival’s first music director.

“The rapport between Christian and our roster of musicians creates an inspiring atmosphere for music-making which is apparent both to those on stage and in the audience,” said cofounder and Artistic/Executive Director Scott Lynkins. “His vision is already evident in the programming for our upcoming season.”

The German-born conductor is a product of the Juilliard School and the New World Symphony, whose Founding Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas undoubtedly brought him along to San Francisco when he was music director there. He also studied at Tanglewood and under Dennis Russell Davies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Reif’s credits include the Ulster and Royal Scottish National orchestras, and the Santa Barbara, Dallas, and North Carolina symphonies, among others.

The coming LAMF season will mark the festival’s first in its new 1200-seat performing arts center. (Social distancing prevails, and there are streaming options as well.) Programming includes The Rake’s Progress under Reif’s baton and works by Mason Bates, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman, Caroline Shaw, and a world premiere by Jimmy López Bellido. Traditional repertoire is also on tap, along with lesser known works such as Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for Strings.

Reif’s 2021/22 guest conducting schedule includes the Hallé Orchestra, Gävle Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Odense Symphony, Munich Radio Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others.

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