William Eddins

Conductor William Eddins Receives Seaver/NEA Award for Conducting

Chicago based conductor William Eddins has recently received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award. Eddins, who is the Resident Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will receive a $50,000 career-development grant. Half the grant money is to be used towards career development, while the rest can be spent at the winner’s discretion. Candidates for the awards are nominated by a panel of conductors, orchestra managers and music business professionals. They do not know they are being considered until they are finalists.

In addition to his position with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Eddins is a frequent guest conductor of major orchestras throughout the world. His previous positions include Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra and assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera. His most recent conducting engagements include the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore and Los Angeles.

Mr. Eddins has premiered and championed many new orchestral works, and has worked closely with composers Steve Reich, Steven Stucky, Brian Zölch, and Aaron Jay Kernis. A native of Buffalo, NY, Mr. Eddins attended the Eastman School of Music, studying with David Effron. At age eighteen, Eddins was the youngest graduate in the history of the institution. He also studied conducting with Daniel Lewis at the University of Southern California and has participated in festivals at Tanglewood, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Summer Institute, and the Chautauqua Institution.

Although focusing on his career as a conductor, Eddins is also a concert pianist and chamber musician. He is founder and artistic director of the Prospect Park Players, a chamber music series based at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a recent interview, Eddin’s said that he intends to use the career development portion of his award towards developing a website for the ensemble.