Before CalArts alum Ryan Bancroft (Music BFA 11, MFA 13) returns to the Hollywood Bowl stage Tuesday night (Aug. 6) to conduct the LA Philharmonic, he chatted with Madeleine Brand of KCRW’s Press Play about his career in classic music, his influences, and his love of lesser-known composers from around the world. In the interview, he name-checks CalArts, talks about his interest in North Indian classical music, and mentions mentorship from Music faculty Ed Carroll.
Bancroft’s dazzling rise in the classical realm began in 2018 when he won both First Prize and Audience Prize at the prestigious Malko Competition for young conductors in Copenhagen, Denmark. He’s currently the principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, an Artist in Association with the Tapiola Sinfonietta in Finland, and chief conductor designate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in Sweden.
At the Hollywood Bowl, Bancroft leads the LA Phil in tackling a program of Russian composers: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26. Toward the end of the KCRW interview, in talking about the Bowl program and the LA Philharmonic, Brand mentions that the orchestra is looking for a new music director. (Gustavo Dudamel leaves Los Angeles at the end of the 2025-26 season for the New York Philharmonic.)
Brand asks if he’s interested in the gig. He responds diplomatically: “I think I’m most interested in simply making great music with a great orchestra.”
Listen to the entire interview with Ryan Bancroft on Press Play.
