Hugh Wolff is an American conductor with a global perspective – born in Paris, he was Harvard-educated, has spent almost a decade at the helm of a German orchestra, and was resident in London for several years. He has recently returned to the US to set up home with his family in Minneapolis. He is looking forward to working more extensively with American orchestras – and believes he can make a difference.

I really enjoy working in Europe from the point of view of the position of music in the culture. It is a European art form essentially, and I find that people there have a need for this music, and their personal interest in the music is somewhat deeper, more central to their thinking and to society as a whole. America is a fast-moving and flexible society and always has been – eager to embrace change and see what’s over the horizon. And so I think it’s an interesting time to be working in America. Things are changing and there’s an opportunity to secure a place for music in society. And it’s an opportunity that might not come round again for a couple of generations if we don’t do it properly now.

Hugh is used to relishing shifts of culture.

I was born in Paris by accident really, to an American family. My father was a US Foreign Service officer. I lived in Paris as an infant but, during my primary school years, we lived in London. I have very strong and positive memories of those years. Relatively few Americans live abroad when they are young. Living internationally, living in other cultures and enjoying them has always been part of my life.

I have three boys, now aged 11, 15 and 16, and the time comes when you have to decide which educational system they are going to continue in. They started here [in America], they grew up here, and we thought, we’re Americans and it’s time to come home. And from my own professional point of view, I thought I would like to take a turn back to America, to redirect my career here. I’m now quite well-known in Europe and less well-known here!