Acclaimed conductor, audience builder, communicator and arts advocate, Stefan Sanders is thrilled to begin his 8th season as the Music Director for your Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Stefan is also equally excited to embark on his 6th season as the Music Director for the Central Texas Philharmonic in Austin, TX.
Having collaborated with an array of distinguished orchestras and guest artists, Stefan’s recent guest conducting appearances include the Colorado Symphony, Kraków Opera, Beethoven Academy Orchestra (Poland), San Antonio Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán (Mérida, MX), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba (Havana, Cuba), Sarasota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Stockton Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil (Ecuador), Filharmonia Warminsko-Mazurska (Poland), Filharomonia Podcarpacka (Poland), Symphoria (Syracuse, NY), Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, and the Round Top International Festival Institute. From 2017-2020 Stefan has also served as an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic. In July of 2025, Stefan will make his debut with the Seocho Philharmonic in Seoul, Korea and will return to the National Orchestra of Cuba in Havana in April 2025.
From 2014-2018 Stefan served as the Associate and Resident Conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he led the orchestra in over 200 performances on all of the orchestra’s series. In 2016, Stefan was one of 5 featured conductors at the League of American Orchestra’s “Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview.” This prestigious conductor showcase is designed to feature talented young conductors poised for music directorships with American Orchestras and was hosted by Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony.
Prior to a career as a conductor, Stefan was an internationally renowned trombonist, having performed as a soloist in North America, Asia and Europe. His performance of Eric Ewazen’s Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra, with the Czech Philharmonic can be heard on the Albany Records label. Sanders was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic’s trombone section for seven seasons and has performed with several orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, and the Seattle Opera’s 2001 production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Stefan was a fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen under the tutelage of maestros Larry Rachleff, Robert Spano, and Hugh Wolff. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Interlochen Arts Academy.
