Conductor Biographies

Christopher James Lees

CSO Resident Conductor / CSYO Principal Conductor

Since his 2016 appointment as Assistant Conductor by Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, Mr. Lees has curated and conducted more than 50 performances a year, leading Pops and Family series concerts, plus the popular On Tap series at Charlotte-area breweries and the Symphony's traveling series, CSO On the Go. Lees was named Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony in 2018.

In the community, he leads performances at area senior care centers and recreation centers, and conducts Link Up, a program of Carnegie Hall, which engages over 3,000 students in the Symphony experience at Belk Theater. He believes in arts access for all, and leads the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras program. Mr. Lees has led performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, and Flint Symphonies. Additional engagements have taken him to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and at the Music in the Mountains Festival & Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil.

Peter Swanson

CSYP Interim Conductor

Peter Swanson serves as Interim Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Philharmonic, and has also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra [MN], and guest conductor for the UNCG Sinfonia. He recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at UNCG studying cello with Alex Ezerman and conducting with Kevin Geraldi. He has served as co-director of The Quartet Project [MN], a summer intensive chamber experience for young strings, and served on the faculty of Dorian Summer Music [IA]. He currently serves on the faculty of Guilford College [NC].