Conductor Bios

Christopher James Lees resident conductor

Emerging American conductor Christopher James Lees brings passionate and nuanced orchestral performances to the stage, a fierce commitment to contemporary music, and a natural charisma to audiences all around the world.

In 2018, Mr. Lees began an appointment as Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to the more than 50 annual concert appearances with the CSO, he has stepped in to conduct Subscription Classical performances on four occasions, including gala concerts with Grammy Award winning artists Branford Marsalis in May 2021 and Rhiannon Giddens in November 2022.

This season, Mr. Lees makes his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Fort Worth Symphony. An active guest conductor, Mr. Lees has returned for performances with the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics, the Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, and Flint Symphonies, and conducted debuts with the Indianapolis, Kansas City, Toledo, and Vermont 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.

Only the second American Gustavo Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Lees made his debut with the orchestra in April 2013 and returned for concerts in February 2015.

With the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis & Atlanta Symphonies, among others, Mr. Lees has served as a assistant conductor for the world’s leading conductors, including: Gustavo Dudamel, Paavo Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Danève, Susanna Mälkki, Robert Spano, and Nicholas McGegan.

After two summers of study with Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival, Mr. Lees was named winner of both the 2011 James Conlon Conducting Prize and the 2012 Aspen Conducting Prizes, respectively. In 2013, Mr. Lees returned for a third summer as assistant conductor for the Aspen Music Festival and School.

An active pianist, and equally comfortable in the opera pit, Mr. Lees has served as Music Director or Assistant Conductor for a wide array of operas: Aida (Atlanta Symphony), Peter Grimes & John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby (Aspen Opera Theatre Center), Louis Andriessen’s De Materie, and Philip Glass’ the CIVIL warS (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Don Giovanni & Mark Adamo’s Little Women, (University of Michigan Opera Theatre), and Nino Rota’s Il Capello di paglia di Firenze (AJ Fletcher Opera Institute).

A recipient of a Career Assistance Grant from the Solti Foundation US, Mr. Lees was also chosen for showcase on the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation National Conductor Preview, hosted by the League of American Orchestras and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

A dedicated advocate for music of our time, Mr. Lees has premiered more than one hundred fifty new works by a diverse range of composers, and collaborated closely with Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Caroline Shaw, Roger Reynolds, and Julia Wolfe.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Lees holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and has studied conducting with Larry Rachleff and Robert Spano, as well as having participated in masterclasses with Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gustav Meier, and Jorma Panula.

When not performing, Mr. Lees can be found building Lego sets with his seven year old son, reading the stack of books on his nightstand, or perpetually training for a marathon.

Katie Ebert co-conductor, CSYP

Katie Ebert is the Director of Bands at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw NC, having served in this capacity since the school’s opening in 2009. She is in her 19th year teaching public school, and each of her ensembles continues to experience success. The Cuthbertson Middle School concert bands have consistently earned superior ratings at local, district and regional music festivals. Under her baton, the middle school program has grown to a current enrollment of approximately 220 music students. Mrs. Ebert also serves as the Assistant Director of Bands at Cuthbertson High School.

A graduate of Lassiter High School in Marietta GA, Mrs. Ebert holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Performance from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah GA, and a Master of Music Education from Western Carolina University. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and holds professional associations in the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Educators, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the American School Band Directors Association, the South-Central District Bandmasters Association, and the Union County Bandmasters Association. Mrs. Ebert is a three-time award recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and was recognized as Cuthbertson Middle School’s Teacher of the Year in 2016/17. She currently serves as a district representative on the state MPA committee and Solo and Ensemble chair.

Mrs. Ebert recently served as a guest clinician for the South Central and Northwestern All District Symphonic Honor Bands, and she continues to conduct both Distinct and County bands in the Southeast. She resides in Waxhaw, NC and team teaches the Cuthbertson band program alongside her husband Todd.

Eric Thompson, III co-conductor, CSYP

Eric L. Thompson, III serves as the Conductor for the Charlotte Symphony Youth Ensemble and Co-Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Philharmonic. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2007 where he held the Robert Ehrman Fellowship. There he studied with Grammy Award Winning and MacArthur “Genius” Edgar Meyer and Harold Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Upon graduation, Eric played full-time bass with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra prior to joining Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Mr. Thompson is the recipient of many awards-he is the first bassist to become a laureate of the Sphinx Competition, he was awarded second place in the ASTA National Solo Competition, and in 2002 he was awarded a musicians union scholarship from the American Federation of Musicians and the rank of Eagle Scout by the National Eagle Scout Association of Boy Scouts of America. As a soloist, he has played on live television broadcasts and has performed concertos twice with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Since 2013, Mr. Thompson has been teaching orchestra at the Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. His students have participated in CMS All-District Honors Orchestra, Western Regional Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Charlotte, All State Orchestra, NC Governor’s School, Interlochen Arts Camp, UNCG Summer Music Camp, and attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Thompson has been recognized many times as an educator, including the Outstanding Music Educator Award in 2019 by the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte and the Crowning Achievement Award in Music Education in 2020 by the Crown Jewels Chapter, The Links, Incorporated. Most recently he was voted as the 2023 CMS Orchestra Director of the Year and conducted CMS All-District Middle School Honors Orchestra.