With a dynamic podium presence and noted passionate interpretations, Indian American conductor Roger Kalia has been celebrated by audiences and industry professionals alike, with Symphony Magazine recently recognizing him nationally as one of five first-year music directors for his innovative programming during the pandemic. Praised for bringing a “fresh view to classical music” (The Republic, IN), Kalia is now in his fourth season as Music Director of the 100-year-old Symphony New Hampshire, and of Orchestra Santa Monica, and in his third season as Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also Co-Founder and Music Director of the 12-year-old celebrated Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York. The recipient of an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with Lyric Opera of Chicago and five Career Assistance Awards from the Solti Foundation U.S., Kalia has been praised for his “extraordinary leadership” (Courier & Press). 

A versatile communicator and frequent guest conductor, in recent seasons, Kalia has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Chicago Sinfonietta, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Szczecin Philharmonic (Poland), Boise Philharmonic Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Redlands, Lima, Adrian, Bakersfield, Great Falls, Owensboro, Spokane, and Wheeling. 

Kalia leads Symphony NH this 2022-23 as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.  Amongst the notable events are the season opening concert featuring works written about or in New Hampshire; a collaborative performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Nashua Choral Society and Nashoba Valley Chorale; and the 100th anniversary concert of Symphony NH’s in April 2023 that marks their first concert to the day one hundred years later in a program featuring cellist Amit Peled performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto.  In addition to conerts with his Lake George Music Festival and the Evansville Philharmonoc, Kalia also debuts with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Boston’s Longy Conservatory Orchestra Flex, and returns to the Redlands Bowl with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra. 

In his various music director positions, Kalia has focused on innovative artistic partnerships highlighting a variety of community partners. In November 2021, Kalia collaborated with composer Derrick Skye, historian Robbie Jones, and painter Kevin McCants to commission and premiere Orchestra Santa Monica’s first-ever art film titled We Gather: Black Life in Santa Monica told through music, visuals, and narrative, which has since received screenings at the California African American Museum, Santa Monica History Museum, and KUSC. In February 2023, We Gather will receive its first-ever live performance as part of OSM’s ten-year anniversary season. Kalia’s first two seasons as music director of the EPO have seen fruitful artistic collaborations with community organizations such as Historic Bosse Field, the Tri-State Hindu Temple, Evansville Civic Theatre, and the Evansville Wartime Museum. Kalia’s visionary programming has been featured on PBS’ “On the Road with Brick Briscoe” and “Regional Voices,” and in publications such as Evansville Living Magazine and Symphony Magazine.  In 2011, Kalia and two of his colleagues co-founded 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 has collaborated with a wide range of artists including singers Angela Brown, Reginald Smith Jr, and Shayna Steele; guitarist Meng Su; Cirque de la Symphonie; Electronic Dance Music (EDM) duo MAKO; Project TRIO; singer/songwriters Randy Newman and Randy Jackson; Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim; violinists Nathan Cole, Glenn Dicterow and Sphinx Competition winner Annelle Gregory; dancers of the Charlotte Ballet and Ballet Indiana; pianists Fei-Fei Dong, Sean Chen, and Misha Dichter; rock musicians Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls and Nancy Wilson of Heart; the B-52s; sitar player Anoushka Shankar; actor Jack Black; and visual artist/astronomer Dr. José Francisco Salgado. A native of New York State, Kalia holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Houston, and SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. His primary mentors include David Effron, Arthur Fagen, and Franz Anton Krager with additional mentoring from David Zinman, Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, and the late Kurt Masur. Previous posts include Associate Conductor of California’s Pacific Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Conducting Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta, and Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) Debut Orchestra, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (IN). Kalia attended the Aspen Music Festival where he was a Conducting Fellow in 2010, and in 2011, Kalia won Second Prize in the Memphis Symphony International Conducting Competition, which led to his debut with the orchestra the following season and launched his professional career. Kalia is married to musicologist / violinist Christine Wisch.