Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers is the Founder and Music Director of Orchestra Noir, The Atlanta African-American Orchestra. Founded in 2016, Orchestra Noir has quickly become one of the most talked about orchestras in the country and has been featured in various notable media outlets such as the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Upscale Magazine, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Ed Lover Show, Rolling Out Magazine, Atlanta Black Star, NPR, Georgia Public Broadcast, Griots Republic, CBS Radio, Blavity, and many more. Gaining commercial and critical acclaim by fusing classical music with pop culture, Orchestra Noir has collaborated with international hip-hop superstars Migos and 2 Chainz for the “Culture” album which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In addition, Orchestra’s Noir’s historic first season culminated with a performance featuring nine time Grammy Award winning producer and DJ Bryan-Michael Cox in an epic orchestra vs. DJ battle designed by Maestro Rodgers.

 

Maestro Rodgers has appeared with many exceptional orchestras in the U.S. and abroad and in August of 2015 Maestro Rodgers was awarded first prize in the London Classical Soloists Competition. In 2014 Maestro Rodgers was also named winner of the International Conducting Competition held in Atlanta, GA and first prize winner of the conducting competition awarded by the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina in Florence, Italy. These prestigious accolades have resulted in guest appearances in North America and abroad, making his European debut in 2014 with the Orchestra Di Toscana Classica.

 

Maestro Rodgers received his Professional Studies Diploma from the renowned Cleveland Institute of Music in Orchestral Conducting under Carl Topilow and Louis Lane. He received his Masters of Music in Conducting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Serge Zehnacker and John Mauceri, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance, under Clifton Matthews, from the same institution.