The Akron Symphony Orchestra is pleased to welcome Daniel Hege as guest conductor for Brahms Second Symphony on Jan. 20, 2018.

Hege is currently completing his seventh season as Music Director and Conductor of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, making him the seventh music director in the organization’s 73-year history. According to his bio at the Wichita Symphony’s website, Hege “has been widely recognized as one of America’s finest young conductors, earning critical acclaim for his fresh interpretations of the standard repertoire and for his commitment to creative programming.”

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He also holds a special place in his heart for the quality of work Johannes Brahms did as a composer.

“The bulk of each of (his) works is extremely significant. That’s where Brahms makes up the ground,” Hege told The Wichita Eagle in a 2016 interview. “There are no throwaways anywhere. Everything is at the absolute highest level. There is not a wasted note in any composition. Everything is thought through, and everything is filled with passion in one way or another.

“That’s who Brahms was, in a nutshell. He was able to write with such cleverness in the construction of the work, because it’s all in the drama of the piece.”

Hege has been a guest conductor previously in Akron and he regularly conducts orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has guest conducted the Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Indianapolis, Oregon, Colorado, San Diego, Columbus and Phoenix symphonies; the Buffalo and Calgary Philharmonics; and led the orchestras at the Grand Teton and Aspen Music Festivals.

Internationally, he has performed with the Singapore Symphony and the St. Petersburg Symphony at the Winter Nights Festival. In addition, Hege has worked with the Syracuse Opera and has made numerous recordings.

He served as music director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 1999-2011. In May 2004, Hege was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Le Moyne College in Syracuse for his contributions to the cultural life in central New York State. Born in Colorado, Hege currently resides in Syracuse with his wife and their three daughters.