Polyarts welcomes Jonathan Taylor Rush for worldwide management 

Polyarts is delighted to welcome conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush for worldwide management.  

Hailed as ​“a continually rising talent in the conducting world” by the Baltimore Sun, Rush brings passion, unique interpretation, and a refreshing energy to the orchestral experience. Rooted in his musical upbringing within the church, Rush’s approach to conducting is imbued with elements of gospel and soul music. 

Previous conducting highlights include debut performances with the likes of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, where he was Assistant, and then Associate Conductor from 2020 to 2023, as well as his opera debut with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. 

The 2024/25 season includes performances with Nashville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, and this week he returns to Savannah Philharmonic where he will lead Beethoven Symphony No.9 and a performance of Augusta Reed Thomas’ Aureole.  

Rush is committed to the performances of living composers and has premiered works by James Lee III, Fernando Arroyo Lascurian and Carlos Simon. Rush is also a champion of the music of William Grant Sill, Florence Price and James P. Johnson. At Baltimore Symphony, he curated the orchestra’s inaugural Gospel Fest and continues to collaborate with creative powerhouses from other genres on the orchestral stage, having worked with the likes of Cypress Hill, Leslie Odom Jr, hip hop writer/​performer Wordsmith, singer-songwriter Ledisi, rapper Big Freedia, Darin Atwater, and Karen Clark Sheard. 

His most recent release, on Decca Classics, is the world premiere recording of Carlos Simon’s brea(d)th.