Author - Paul Haas

Following in a series of world-renowned conductors, such as Leonard Slatkin and Myung-Whun Chung, Paul Haas is now the fourteenth music director of the New York Youth Symphony. He has consistently impressed music critics nationwide with his "fiery brilliance" and "bold, muscular, go-for-broke conducting.” In addition to appearances as the assistant conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Mr. Haas' conducting engagements have included performances with the San Antonio Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, among others, as well as festival appearances. Recently, Paul conducted the National Symphony Orchestra with Itzhak Perlman as soloist.

Paul joined colleagues this summer in presenting the world premiere of REWIND: a revolutionary visual and sonic experience featuring internationally-renowned violinists Anne Akiko Meyers and Colin Jacobsen, as well as The Knights, a chamber orchestra conducted by Haas. “REWIND refits the classical experience for a new century… performed with passion and beauty by Mr. Haas and his young players," raved the New York Times. REWIND spans five centuries, from commissioned and spontaneously-created acoustic and electronic pieces by Judd Greenstein, Joshua Penman, and Joel Morales to music by Schnittke, Schoenberg, Mozart, Purcell, and others. Lighting and other visual elements join forces with the music, creating a feast for the senses. For more information, please visit the website at www.rewindconcert.com .

Mr. Haas recently shared the podium with Michael Tilson Thomas, co-conducting a week of rehearsals and performances with the New World Symphony in Miami to great critical acclaim. These performances emphasized Mr. Haas' continued commitment to working with young orchestra musicians. Haas maintains an active role in the contemporary music scene, having commissioned a new work for every concert he has conducted with the New York Youth Symphony as part of its ASCAP Award-winning "First Music" program. His numerous television and radio appearances include features on a "CBS Sunday Morning" special entitled "American Maestro" and the McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase on New York's WQXR. Mr. Haas and the New York Youth Symphony were recently awarded the ASCAP-American Symphony Orchestra League Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming, the first time that coveted award has ever been presented to a youth orchestra.

Paul Haas is a graduate of Yale University and the Juilliard School, where he studied conducting as a Bruno Walter Fellow with Otto-Werner Mueller.