Roger Kalia, Music Director
Roger Kalia
Music Director
Praised for bringing a “fresh view to classical music” (The Republic), Indian American conductor Roger Kalia is a versatile communicator who brings unique and unmistakable energy to the podium. Recently profiled by Symphony Magazine in recognition of his innovative programming, Kalia has been hailed as “leading with passionate intensity and a clear beat” as well as being “one to watch” (Long Beach Gazette).
In 2027, Kalia will lead the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Symphony Masala, his groundbreaking show with acclaimed Bollywood singer Anuradha “Juju” Palakurthi. A celebration of Indian culture via a performance of Bollywood songs in their first-ever arrangement for Western instruments, the show first premiered with Symphony New Hampshire in 2023, followed by performances in Chicago, Santa Monica, and Evansville – highlighting Kalia’s role as an innovator, communicator, and entrepreneur. Kalia will also lead the Paducah Symphony as a guest conductor this season, building on impressive recent guest engagements including a masterworks debut with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and a return to the Redlands Symphony as a finalist in their Music Director search.
Kalia is also entering his seventh season as Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic and his second with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, where he was appointed Music Director in 2025-26. Kalia also continues as Music Director of Orchestra Santa Monica, a post he has held for eight seasons. He recently concluded a six-season tenure with Symphony New Hampshire. An active champion of emerging artists, Kalia has traveled to the Redlands Bowl every summer since 2019 to lead the Grand Finals of their Young Artist Concerto Competition, and recently created and led the inaugural Young Composer Composition Competition in Evansville. Acclaimed for his “extraordinary leadership” (Courier & Press), Kalia has been the recipient of several awards from the Solti Foundation, including an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with Lyric Opera of Chicago and five Career Assistance Awards.
Kalia is cultivating new works, new spaces, and new thinking across his Music Director roles for the 2026-27 season. Highlights include a collaboration with legendary trumpet player Arturo Sandoval and the Evansville Philharmonic, and the world premiere of a commissioned work by Orchestra Santa Monica composer-in-residence Jason Anthony Gomez. Kalia’s vivid and responsive programming has been featured on PBS’s “Any Road with Brick Briscoe” and “Regional Voices.” In recent seasons, Kalia has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Sinfonietta, Louisiana Philharmonic, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Szczecin Philharmonic (Poland), Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Boise Philharmonic, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Lima, Adrian, Bakersfield, Great Falls, Owensboro, Spokane, Amarillo, and Wheeling.
Kalia also serves as Music Director & Co-Founder of the Lake George Music Festival, which has been described as “an unparalleled classical music experience in the Adirondacks” (Chronogram). As one of the nation’s foremost classical music artist retreats, the festival presents cutting-edge artists and composers performing classical and new music, traditional and experimental concerts and recitals of various sizes, open rehearsals, informational talks, and a variety of community outreach programs. Kalia’s leadership has been hailed as “unbounded and impressive” (The Glens Falls Chronicle) with concert performances of the Festival Orchestra being regularly featured on NPR’s Performance Today and highlighted in Gramophone Magazine, Musical America, and Saratoga Living, among others. Kalia has led programs ranging from semi-staged chamber operas to commissioned works and premieres, including Sheridan Seyfried’s Double Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra featuring Nikki and Timothy Chooi, and Paul Dooley’s Northern Nights featuring percussionist Lisa Pegher. In 2024, Kalia was featured on the UpBeat Podcast from “Everything Conducting” for his innovative work at the festival including the creation of its inaugural Conducting Fellowship program.
Kalia has collaborated with a wide range of artists including singers Angela Brown, Shayna Steele, Dan Domenech, and the late Jubilant Sykes (appointed as Orchestra Santa Monica’s inaugural artistic partner); Grammy-winning trio Time for Three; Indian tabla virtuoso Sandeep Das; violinists Anne Akiko Meyers and Nathan Cole; pianist Jon Nakamatsu; trumpet player Tom Hooten; singer/songwriters Randy Newman and Randy Jackson; rock musicians Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls and Nancy Wilson of Heart; the B-52s; Broadway star Rachel Potter; sitar player Anoushka Shankar; and actor Jack Black. He continues to be a sought-after interpreter of film scores and will lead performances of Buster Keaton’s silent film “The General” and Star Wars: The Empire Strike Back during the 2026-27 season.
A native of New York State, Kalia holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Houston, and SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife, musicologist and violinist Christine Wisch, and their son Adrian.
