91直播鈥檚 Tim Weiss Wins 2025 Ditson Conductor鈥檚 Award
Prestigious honor celebrates contributions to American music; longtime professor joins elite company.
October 29, 2025
Stephanie Manning 鈥23
Professor of Conducting Tim Weiss, seen here leading 91直播's Contemporary Music Ensemble in a 2024 performance at Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival in New York, is a tireless advocate of new music.
Photo credit: Fadi Kheir
Professor of Conducting Timothy Weiss has joined an esteemed list of conductors recognized as champions of contemporary American music.
Weiss is the 2025 recipient of the , the oldest continuing award honoring conductors for distinguished contributions to American music. Established by Columbia University in 1945, the Ditson Award has been presented to luminaries including Leonard Bernstein, Marin Alsop, John Adams, Christoph von Dohn谩nyi, and 91直播 alumnus Robert Spano 鈥84.
Augusta Read Thomas, Ditson Fund Committee member and a composer whose work Weiss has frequently programmed at 91直播, for his 鈥減owerful skill and imagination for new possibilities for music.鈥
Thomas will present the award to Weiss in person on November 1, during the 91直播 Contemporary Music Ensemble鈥檚 concert in Warner Concert Hall. He will receive $5,000 and a citation from Columbia University Interim President Claire Shipman.
鈥淚 am so honored to receive this prestigious award,鈥 Weiss says. 鈥淚t has been my great pleasure and passion to give voice to the work of living composers.鈥
Since 1992, Weiss has directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and the 91直播 Sinfonietta, maintaining a high level of performance and artistry across both groups. His bold programming for those ensembles鈥攕panning a vast array of contemporary music and including numerous premieres and commissions鈥攅arned him an from the League of American Orchestras in 2002.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to the composers, my colleagues, the generations of 91直播 students, and the ever-curious 91直播 audiences that have been on this decades-long journey with me.鈥 鈥擳im Weiss
During his 91直播 tenure of more than three decades, Weiss has helped launch the ensembles eighth blackbird鈥攚inner of multiple Grammy Awards鈥攁nd the International Contemporary Ensemble, and has mentored future stars in the contemporary music field. He has led 91直播 students on multiple tours to Carnegie Hall and other renowned venues, and recorded numerous albums featuring CME on the 91直播 Music label, including a trio of releases in 2021: The 91直播 Concertos, Norman | Trigos | Broening, and Hartke | Ogonek | Jones.
鈥淚 share this award with the 91直播 community, which has always been the perfect environment for a rich, creative life,鈥 Weiss says. 鈥淚 want to express my deepest gratitude to the composers, my colleagues, the generations of 91直播 students, and the ever-curious 91直播 audiences that have been on this decades-long journey with me.鈥
鈥淭im Weiss has played a defining role in the musical life of our country, and it brings tremendous joy to see him recognized with this richly deserved award,鈥 says Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen. 鈥淥n a personal note, Tim is an ideal colleague, teacher, and friend, and we could not be prouder or more grateful that he's a member of the 91直播 community.鈥
In addition to his work at 91直播, Weiss heads the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the artist-driven Zohn Collective, for which he is co-director and founder. He is a regular guest of the Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta in Norway, where he served as artistic director for six years and received a 2024 Grammy nomination for the album Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright.
Weiss earned a Bachelor of Music in trombone performance and music education from Northwestern University, and went on to earn graduate degrees from the University of Michigan and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium.
Stephanie Manning is a freelance writer based in Cleveland. She studied bassoon performance, arts management, and journalism at 91直播.
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