Artists’ Profiles

Benjamin Manis

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Conductor

American conductor, Benjamin Manis, joined the Utah Symphony as Associate Conductor in September 2022, leading the orchestra at Abravanel Hall, at the Deer Valley® Music Festival, and on its upcoming statewide tour. Before moving to Salt Lake City, Manis spent three seasons as Resident Conductor of the Houston Grand Opera, making his debut with Verdi’s Rigoletto. Other highlights of his time in Houston include performances of Carmen, Roméo et Juliette and The Snowy Day. He led four world premieres, among them the 2020 world premiere of Marian’s Song with the subsequent HGO Digital filmed version and Miller Outdoor Theatre performances of the same work. Manis returned to HGO in the 2022–23 season to lead productions of Tosca and El Milagro del Recuerdo.

Winner of the 2023, 2022, and 2019 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Awards, Manis has served as cover conductor for the St. Louis, Dallas, and National Symphonies, working with conductors Gianandrea Noseda, David Robertson, and Stéphane Denève.

Zac Hammond

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Oboe

Zachary Hammond joined the Utah Symphony as Principal Oboe in 2022. Prior to coming to Utah, Hammond served as Principal Oboe of the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina for seven years and he currently holds the position of Assistant Principal Oboe and English Horn with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO. He has been invited to perform as guest principal oboe with top orchestras across the country, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, and New World Symphony. He also has toured and recorded with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Hammond has been frequently featured as a soloist, including premiering a concerto written specifically for him by Yiorgos Vassilandonakis with the Charleston Symphony in 2019.