Long recognized as one of the world's leading instrumentalists, Ransom Wilson has turned increasingly to a career as a conductor of orchestral and operatic repertoire.  He is Artistic Director of New York’s LE TRAIN BLEU ensemble, Music Director of Solisti New York Orchestra, former Artistic Director of Oklahoma’s famed OK MOZART International Festival, and former Music Director of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra.  He is currently a member of the conducting staff at the Metropolitan Opera. He has appeared as guest conductor with many major orchestras including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Denver Symphony, the San Francisco Chamber Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the New Jersey Symphony, the Budapest Strings, the Berkeley Symphony and the Bach Camerata of Santa Barbara, and has led a successful tour with James Galway and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  Mr. Wilson has accompanied many internationally renowned artists from the podium, including Itzhak Perlman, André Watts, Frederica von Stade, Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, Joshua Bell, Garrick Ohlsson, Jeffrey Kahane and Hilary Hahn. 

An esteemed operatic conductor, Wilson has led a highly acclaimed production of the American stage premiere of  Mozart's Il Re Pastore, with the Glimmerglass Opera.  Additionally, he conducted the first professional production of composer Amy Beach’s only opera Cabildo, on the “Great Performers at Lincoln Center” series.  The production was recorded and released on CD by Delos International.  More recently, he has twice appeared as conductor for productions of Handel operas at the New York City Opera.

Recent seasons' engagements have included concerts and recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, the New Haven Symphony, England's Hallé Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, among others. He conducted La Bohème at the International Opera Center in Amsterdam, as well as Rossini’s La Cenerentola in San Sebastián, Spain.  Wilson also conducted as an Artist Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, both in New York and on tour. 
After graduation from the Juilliard School in 1973, he spent a year in Paris as a private student of Jean-Pierre Rampal.  In 1976 he gave his official debut concert in New York City, with Rampal as his guest artist.   An exclusive recording contract with Angel/EMI followed soon thereafter, along with extensive performances all over the world.

As flute soloist, he has appeared in concert with some of the greatest orchestras and artists of our time, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony, Frederica von Stade, Jessye Norman, Thomas Hampson, Susan Graham, Dolora Zajick, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Hilary Hahn, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Sir James Galway, Barry Douglas, Peter Frankl, Robin Sutherland, and many others.


Ransom Wilson is the recipient of several illustrious honors.  In 1988 the New York Times Foundation awarded him the first Alabama Prize, which is awarded to natives or residents of that state who have distinguished themselves in the performing or visual arts.  The following year he, with pianist Christopher O'Riley, received a National Public Radio award for best performance by a small ensemble on a national broadcast.  The Austrian government honored him with their prestigious Award of Merit in Gold, in recognition of his efforts on behalf of Mozart's music in America.

Mr. Wilson’s highly successful recording career, which has included two Grammy Award nominations, began in 1973 when he made a recording with Jean-Pierre Rampal and I Solisti Veneti.  More than 15 solo recordings have followed on the Angel/EMI, RCA, Orion and Musical Heritage Society labels. As conductor, he has made a best-selling recording of music by John Adams and Steve Reich with Solisti New York and a disc of Baroque music with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  A recording on the CRI label features Mr. Wilson conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's in the music of Aaron Jay Kernis and he recorded Stravinsky L'Histoire du Soldat  in a citically acclaimed performance on the Chesky label. A strong advocate of contemporary music, Wilson has commissioned new works by Steve Reich, Peter Schickele, Joseph Schwantner, John Harbison, George Tsontakis, Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Francaix and Carlos Surinach and his future plans include projects with Martin Bresnick, Richard Danielpour, and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis.  Most recently, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a recording of music by Michael Colina.  A gifted arranger, he has transcribed much of the music for his Angel/EMI recordings and, at Carnegie Hall with Frederica von Stade as soloist, he has conducted his own orchestrations of three of Ravel's Five Greek Songs, which were left unorchestrated by the composer.

Educated at the North Carolina School of the Arts and at the Juilliard School, Wilson pursued post-graduate studies as an Atlantique Scholar in France with Jean-Pierre Rampal.  He has studied conducting with Roger Neirenberg, James Dixon, OftoWerner Mueller and received extensive coaching from the late Leonard Bernstein.  He currently lives in the Connecticut woods and is on the faculty of Yale University.

Ransom Wilson has long been recognized internationally as one of the greatest flutists of his generation.  Of late he is turning increasingly to a career in orchestral and operatic conducting.  He founded Solisti New York orchestra in 1981, with which he appeared as conductor in hundreds of concerts and recordings. More recently he has conducted two productions at the New York City Opera.  Since 2006 he has been a member of the musical staff at the Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, he is Artistic Director and conductor of a new ensemble, LE TRAIN BLEU, which recently received rave reviews for its debut performance at New York City's innovative Galapagos Art Space.

He has appeared as guest conductor with England’s London Symphony Orchestra and Hallé Orchestra, the Hermitage State Orchestra in Russia, the Cracow Philharmonic (Poland), KBS Symphony (South Korea), the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Denver Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (with Sir James Galway), San Francisco Chamber Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, New Jersey Symphony, Budapest Strings, Hartford Symphony, and Berkeley Symphony.

In addition to his current work at the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera, Wilson has conducted numerous productions with the opera companies of Glimmerglass, Minnesota, and Portland.  In 2004 he conducted the U.S. Premiere of Gounod’s comic opera Le médecin malgré lui (with recitatives by Erik Satie) at Yale University. Internationally, he has conducted operas at the Festival La Quincena in Spain, and the International Opera Center in Amsterdam.
As flute soloist, he has appeared in concert with some of the greatest orchestras and artists of our time, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony, Frederica von Stade, Jessye Norman, Thomas Hampson, Susan Graham, Dolora Zajick, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Hilary Hahn, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Sir James Galway, Barry Douglas, Peter Frankl, Robin Sutherland, and many others.

Ransom Wilson hails from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Professor of Flute at Yale University, Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, and Artistic Director of  LE TRAIN BLEU ensemble.