Gabriel Gordon

Gabriel Gordon has built a distinguished international career conducting across the United States, Australia, and Europe. Praised for his expressive clarity and dynamic musical leadership, he has been described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “a distinct and engaging musical personality,” while The Utah Review noted that under his baton “every component gelled.”

Gordon has conducted major institutions including the Santa Fe Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Santa Fe Opera. He earned early recognition as the second-place laureate of the Denver Philharmonic International Conducting Competition and as a winner of the International Conductor’s Workshop and Competition in Atlanta.

A versatile artist with a prominent specialization in ballet, Gordon has worked extensively with Ballet West since 2019, conducting productions of The Nutcracker, Rodeo, Les Noces, Dracula, and Stars and Stripes. His ballet work expanded this season with his Orlando Ballet debut, conducting Christopher Stowell’s Swan Lake with the Orlando Philharmonic. He also makes his Chicago-area debut with Ballet 5:8 and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, bringing live music to Beyond The Nutcracker for the first time in the company’s history.

Gordon conducts The New American Philharmonic and has appeared with ensembles including Chamber Orchestra Ogden and The NOVA Chamber Series. He serves as Orchestra Director at Syracuse Arts Academy and is a board member of the Davis Arts Council.

As a violinist, Gordon has performed with the American Symphony, the Santa Fe Symphony, and the New Mexico Philharmonic, and was a founding member of the Daponte String Quartet, performing chamber music across the United States. He remains an active freelance violinist in the Salt Lake City region and continues to collaborate with a wide range of ensembles, including Ballet West.

In 2015, he founded NEXT Ensemble, where many of his compositions and arrangements have premiered. His educational outreach includes his YouTube channel, Gabriel Gordon: The Art of Listening, where he offers accessible and engaging commentary on classical repertoire.

Gordon’s national profile expanded in 2022 when the Utah Jazz invited him to perform his arrangement of the “State Anthem of Ukraine,” marking the first time a foreign national anthem was played before an NBA game. The event received coverage from The Independent, Newsweek, People Magazine, and multiple ABC, Fox, and NBC affiliates.