Florida State University College of Music alumnus Brian Eads (M.M. ’05) made his conducting debut with the Boston Pops at the end of last year. He led three performances as a guest conductor during the orchestra’s 2025 Holiday Pops series, with a program including seasonal classics like David Chase’s arrangement of The Twelve Days of Christmas and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride. At the center of the program was a performance of Don Sebesky’s musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which featured narration of excerpts from the novella with musical accompaniment by the Boston Pops set against a backdrop of illustrations by P.J. Lynch. Boston.com praised Eads’ appearance on the podium, writing that, “While Keith Lockhart and his contingent were off in Central Massachusetts, it was up to guest conductor Brian Eads to hold down the fort in the Pops’ home turf… He brought a wide-eyed and eager energy to a program where ‘wide-eyed and eager’ is practically a necessity.”
Eads earned the Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Florida State University, Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and is currently a doctoral candidate in orchestral conducting at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. During his time at FSU, Eads studied under Alexander Jiménez, Professor of Conducting and Director of Orchestral Activities at the College of Music. Eads holds this time working with Dr. Jiménez in high regard and credits Jiménez as a “lifelong teacher, mentor, and friend.”
In his conducting career, Eads has worked across classical, pops, musical theater, and contemporary symphonic projects. He served as the music director of the 2024 Les Misérables World Arena tour, as well as the 2017 and 2022 Les Misérables North American tours. His versatility also extends outside the realm of traditional repertoire and into the world of video game music. Eads has conducted performances of the Stardew Valley score and the soundtrack from Death Stranding, with upcoming tours across North America.
