ABOUT

Tristan Rais-Sherman is one of the most exciting conductors of his generation and a three-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award — known for his intellectual curiosity, emotional intensity, and an unwavering commitment to making classical music speak to the broadest possible audience.

The 2025/26 season features Rais-Sherman's debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Harbin Symphony Orchestra. In the 2026/27 season, he returns to the Calgary Philharmonic following his successful debut, which resulted in an immediate reinvitation, and leads performances with the Billings Symphony as a Music Director Candidate.

Rais-Sherman maintains an ongoing relationship with the San Diego Symphony reaching back to his debut in 2023, which led to multiple return visits and his appointment as part of the inaugural Conducting Fellow cohort in the 2025/26 season.

Other recent highlights include assisting Maestro James Gaffigan in a production of Massenet's Manon at Les Arts Valencia, and a last-minute step-in to lead Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Billings Symphony. He has also collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Bamberger Symphoniker.

China has become a defining axis of Rais-Sherman's career. In 2023, he led The Philadelphia Orchestra's 50th anniversary China residency, debuting at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing alongside the China National Symphony Orchestra — a performance attended by the U.S. Ambassador to China and covered by The New York Times, CGTN, Xinhua, and Global Times. He has since returned independently every year: conducting the Hohhot Philharmonic Orchestra, leading a single-evening performance of all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Yuan Jie, and debuting with the Harbin Symphony Orchestra in April 2026.

Rais-Sherman served as Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2022 to 2024, working closely alongside Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. During his tenure he led numerous concerts and played a central role in the orchestra's Orchestra After 5 series, earning praise as an "amiable host" from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Deeply committed to mentorship and accessibility, Rais-Sherman has led the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, conducted masterclasses at the China Conservatory of Music and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and led educational programs with the New York Youth Symphony and ShanghaiTech University.

Rais-Sherman holds degrees from Ithaca College, the University of Michigan, and the New England Conservatory, where he was the inaugural recipient of the Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting.