John Gennaro Devlin
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. Currently in his sixth season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO), Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title.
For his work with the WSO, Devlin was named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Also in 2023, Devlin was honored by Wheeling’s mayor, Glenn F. Elliott, with the Mayor’s Award for “distinguished service, loyalty, and dedication to our city.”
Devlin’s artistry and versatility make him a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras across the nation. His engagements have included performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet. Of his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Joshua Bell, Anne Midgette of The Washington Post wrote that Devlin “led the evening with flair … and was visibly in his element.”
Devlin’s primary artistic goal is to advocate for American music from many different types of genres and creators. With this programmatic focus, Devlin has premiered and/or commissioned over 50 new American works. His artistic partnerships with contemporary American composers include a two-decades-long relationship with Eric Nathan, from whom he has commissioned works that he performed at Carnegie Hall and with the National Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Devlin commissioned and premiered Evan Meier’s work Migrations in Rhythm in collaboration with multi-faceted hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon. The work, a first of its kind, is a concerto for beatboxer and rapper that traces global musical influences within the United States that led to the creation of hip-hop and go-go.
From 2015-2018 Devlin apprenticed with some of the world’s best conductors, soloists, and orchestras while based in Washington, D.C. During that period, he was the exclusive Cover Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra, where he served as assistant to world-renowned Music Directors Christoph Eschenbach and Gianandrea Noseda, accompanying the NSO on its historic 2018 tour of Russia. He served concurrently as the Assistant Conductor of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey, working alongside Music Director Rossen Milanov.
John Gennaro Devlin is an American conductor of Italian and Irish heritage. He completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of James Ross at the University of Maryland School of Music. As an undergraduate student, Devlin attended Emory University as a Robert W. Woodruff Scholar, graduating summa cum laude with a double major in Clarinet Performance and Latin. Devlin has also benefitted enormously from his time as a member of the New York Youth Symphony, at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and at the Pierre Monteux School. His professional career has been shaped by his time as an assistant to conductors Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Rossen Milanov, and Victoria Gau.
For more information, please visit www.johndevlinmusic.com.