This is a non-exhaustive list of principal conductors by orchestra, principally for orchestras with pages on Wikipedia, classified by country and by city. The term 'principal conductor' is used here as an umbrella term to encompass such titles as:
The term 'music director' is more common in the US and Canada, whereas 'principal conductor' or 'chief conductor' is more prevalent elsewhere. For orchestras which have both a music director and a principal conductor, such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the person with the title of music director is given preference by hierarchy.
Orchestras which choose not to have principal conductors, such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, are omitted from this list. Likewise, principal conductors for opera companies are omitted, unless the orchestra of that opera company performs orchestral concerts under a separate name.
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Buenos Aires | Argentine National Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Yerevan | Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra | Eduard Topchjan | Armenian |
| Yerevan | National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia | Vahan Mardirossian | Armenian |
| Yerevan | Armenian State Symphony Orchestra | Sergey Smbatyan | Armenian |
| Gyumri | KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir | Natalie Galstyan | Armenian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Adelaide | Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Brisbane | Queensland Symphony Orchestra | Umberto Clerici | Italian |
| Canberra | Canberra Symphony Orchestra | Jessica Cottis | Australian |
| Hobart | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra | Eivind Aadland | Norwegian |
| Melbourne | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martín | Spanish |
| Perth | West Australian Symphony Orchestra | Asher Fisch | Israeli |
| Sydney | Australian Chamber Orchestra | Richard Tognetti | Australian |
| Sydney | Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Simone Young | Australian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bregenz | Vorarlberg Symphony | Gérard Korsten | South African |
| Drassburg | Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn Philharmonie | Nicolas Altstaedt | German |
| Graz | Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester | Roland Kluttig | German |
| Linz | Ars Antiqua Austria | Gunar Letzbor | Austrian |
| Linz | Bruckner Orchestra Linz | Markus Poschner | German |
| Salzburg | Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg | Riccardo Minasi | Italian |
| Vienna | Concentus Musicus Wien | Stefan Gottfried | Austrian |
| Vienna | Vienna Hofburg Orchestra | Gert Hofbauer | Austrian |
| Vienna | Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester | Johannes Wildner | Austrian |
| Vienna | Nova Orchester Wien | William Garfield Walker | American |
| Vienna | Klangforum Wien | Beat Furrer | Swiss |
| Vienna | Tonkünstler Orchestra | Yutaka Sado | Japanese |
| Vienna | Vienna Chamber Orchestra | Stefan Vladar | Austrian |
| Vienna | Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop | American |
| Vienna | Vienna Symphony | Petr Popelka (designate, effective 2024) | Czech |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Antwerp | Antwerp Symphony Orchestra | Elim Chan | Chinese |
| Brussels | Brussels Philharmonic | Kazushi Ōno | Japanese |
| Brussels | National Orchestra of Belgium | Antony Hermus | Dutch |
| Ghent | Oost-Vlaams Symfonisch Orkest | Geert Baetens | Belgian |
| Liège | Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège | Gergely Madaras | Hungarian |
| Mons | Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie | Frank Braley | French |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| La Paz | National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia | Weimar Arancibia | Bolivian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Rio de Janeiro | Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira | Roberto Minczuk | Brazilian |
| São Paulo | Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo | Thierry Fischer | Swiss |
| Ponta Grossa | Orquestra Sinfônica de Ponta Grossa | Jayme Amatnecks | Brazilian |
| Brasilia | Orquestra Sinfônica de Brasília - OSTNCS | Cláudio Cohen | Brazilian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Santiago | National Symphony Orchestra of Chile | Rodolfo Saglimbeni | Venezuelan |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Beijing | China Philharmonic Orchestra | Yu Long | Chinese |
| Guangzhou | Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra | Huang Yi | Chinese |
| Nanning | Guangxi Symphony Orchestra | Synthia Ko | Chinese |
| Shanghai | Shanghai Symphony Orchestra | Yu Long | Chinese |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bogotá | Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Bogotá | National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia | Olivier Grangean | French |
| Cali | Cali Philharmonic Orchestra | Irwin Hoffman | American |
| Medellin | Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín | David Greilsammer | Israel |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Brno | Brno Philharmonic | Dennis Russell Davies | American |
| České Budějovice | South Czech Philharmonic | Miran Vaupotić | Croatian |
| Olomouc | Moravian Philharmonic | Petr Vronský | Czech |
| Ostrava | Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Vassily Sinaisky | Russian |
| Prague | Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Steven Mercurio | American |
| Prague | Czech Philharmonic | Semyon Bychkov | Russian |
| Prague | Prague Philharmonia | Emmanuel Villaume | French |
| Prague | Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra | Petr Popelka | Czech |
| Prague | Prague Symphony Orchestra | Tomáš Brauner | Czech |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Aalborg | Aalborg Symphony Orchestra | Joshua Weilerstein | American |
| Aarhus | Aarhus Symphony Orchestra | Marc Soustrot | French |
| Copenhagen | Danish National Chamber Orchestra | Ádám Fischer | Hungarian |
| Copenhagen | Danish National Symphony Orchestra | Fabio Luisi | Italian |
| Copenhagen | Royal Danish Orchestra | Marie Jacquot (designate, effective 2024) | French |
| Odense | Odense Symphony Orchestra | Pierre Bleuse | French |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Jyväskylä | Jyväskylä Sinfonia | Ville Matvejeff | Finnish |
| Helsinki | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Nicholas Collon | British |
| Helsinki | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Jukka-Pekka Saraste | Finnish |
| Helsinki | Helsinki Chamber Orchestra | James S. Kahane [fr] | French |
| Helsinki | Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra | Mikk Murdvee | Estonian |
| Helsinki | The Polytech Orchestra | James S. Kahane | French |
| Joensuu | Joensuu City Orchestra | Eero Lehtimäki | Finnish |
| Lahti | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dalia Stasevska | Russian-Finnish |
| Lappeenranta | Lappeenranta City Orchestra | Erkki Lasonpalo | Finnish |
| Mikkeli | St. Michel Strings | Erkki Lasonpalo | Finnish |
| Oulu | Oulu Symphony Orchestra | Johannes Gustavsson | Swedish |
| Pori | Pori Sinfonietta | Tibor Bogányi | Finnish |
| Tampere | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Matthew Halls | British |
| Turku | Turku Philharmonic Orchestra | Leif Segerstam | Finnish |
| Vaasa | Vaasa City Orchestra | Tomas Djupsjöbacka | Finnish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bordeaux | Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine | Paul Daniel | British |
| Lille | Orchestre national de Lille | Alexandre Bloch | French |
| Lyon | Orchestre National de Lyon | Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider | Danish |
| Mulhouse | Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse | Christoph Koncz | Austrian-Hungarian |
| Marseille | Orchestre philharmonique de Marseille | Lawrence Foster | American |
| Nantes | Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire | Pascal Rophé | French |
| Paris | Ensemble Intercontemporain | Pierre Bleuse | French |
| Paris | Orchestre de Chambre de Paris | (post vacant) | |
| Paris | Orchestre de Paris | Klaus Mäkelä | Finnish |
| Paris | Orchestre National de France | Cristian Măcelaru | Romanian |
| Paris | Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France | Mikko Franck | Finnish |
| Rennes | Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne | Nicholas Ellis (designate, effective 2024) | Canadian |
| Strasbourg | Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg | Aziz Shokhakimov | Uzbek |
| Toulouse | Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse | Tarmo Peltokoski | Finnish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Hong Kong | City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong | Jean Thorel | French |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra | Jaap van Zweden | Dutch |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Christoph Poppen | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Budapest | Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer | Hungarian |
| Budapest | Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra | Pinchas Steinberg | Israeli |
| Budapest | Concerto Budapest | András Keller | Hungarian |
| Budapest | Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra | Riccardo Frizza | Italian |
| Budapest | MÁV Symphony Orchestra | Péter Csaba | Hungarian |
| Miskolc | Symphony Orchestra of Miskolc | Tamás Gál | Hungarian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Reykjavík | Iceland Symphony Orchestra | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Dublin | Crash Ensemble | Ryan McAdams | American |
| Dublin | RTÉ Concert Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Dublin | RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martin | Spanish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Jerusalem | Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra | Julian Rachlin | Lithuanian |
| Tel Aviv | Israel Chamber Orchestra | Ariel Zuckermann | Israeli |
| Tel Aviv | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bologna | Teatro Comunale di Bologna | Oksana Lyniv | Ukrainian |
| Firenze | Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino | Daniele Gatti | Italian |
| Firenze | Orchestra della Toscana | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
| Milan | Orchestra della Scala | Riccardo Chailly | Italian |
| Milan | Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali | James Feddeck | American |
| Milan | Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi | Claus Peter Flor | German |
| Naples | Orchestra Camerata Italiana | Matthias Manasi | German |
| Rome | Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia | Antonio Pappano | British-Italian |
| Turin | RAI National Symphony Orchestra | Andrés Orozco-Estrada | Colombian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Hiroshima | Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra | Tatsuya Shimono | Japanese |
| Kanagawa | Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra | Kentaro Kawase | Japanese |
| Kanagawa | Kanagawa Central Orchestra | Yuki Ito | Japanese |
| Nagoya | Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra | Kazuhiro Koizumi | Japanese |
| Osaka | Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra | Michiyoshi Inoue | Japanese |
| Tokyo | Japan Philharmonic Orchestra | Pietari Inkinen | Finnish |
| Tokyo | New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra | Kazuyoshi Kamioka | Japanese |
| Tokyo | NHK Symphony Orchestra | Fabio Luisi | Italian |
| Tokyo | Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra | Ken Takaseki | Japanese |
| Tokyo | Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Kazushi Ōno | Japanese |
| Tokyo | Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrea Battistoni | Italian |
| Tokyo | Tokyo Symphony Orchestra | Jonathan Nott | English |
| Tokyo | Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra | Sebastian Weigle | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Riga | Kremerata Baltica | Gidon Kremer | Latvian |
| Riga | Latvian National Symphony Orchestra | Tarmo Peltokoski | Finnish |
| Liepāja | Liepāja Symphony Orchestra | Gintaras Rinkevičius | Lithuanian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Nendeln | Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein | Stefan Sanderling | German |
| Vaduz | Orchester Liechtenstein-Werdenberg | Stefan Susana | Austrian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra | Corinna Niemeyer | German |
| Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra | Gustavo Gimeno | Spanish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Macau | Macau Orchestra | Lü Jia | Chinese |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra | Jun Märkl | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Amsterdam | Amsterdam Sinfonietta | Candida Thompson | British |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Lorenzo Viotti | Swiss |
| Amsterdam | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Klaus Mäkelä (designate, effective 2027) | Finnish |
| Enschede | Het Symfonieorkest | Jan Willem de Vriend | Dutch |
| Groningen | Noord Nederlands Orkest | Eivind Gullberg Jensen | Norwegian |
| Hilversum | Radio Filharmonisch Orkest | Karina Canellakis | American |
| Rotterdam | Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
| The Hague | Residentie Orchestra | Anja Bihlmaier | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Auckland | Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra | Giordano Bellincampi | Danish |
| Christchurch | Christchurch Symphony Orchestra | Benjamin Northey | Australian |
| Wellington | New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | Gemma New | New Zealand |
| Wellington | Orchestra Wellington | Marc Taddei | American |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bergen | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Edward Gardner | British |
| Kristiansand | Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra | Julian Rachlin | Lithuanian |
| Oslo | Norwegian Radio Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Oslo | Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra | Klaus Mäkelä | Finnish |
| Stavanger | Stavanger Symphony Orchestra | Andris Poga | Latvian |
| Trondheim | Trondheim Symphony Orchestra | Han-Na Chang | Korean |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Asunción | Symphony Orchestra of the City of Asunción | Luis Szarán | Paraguayan |
| Asunción | Symphony Orchestra of the National Congress of Paraguay | Diego Sanchez Haase | Paraguayan |
| Asunción | Recycled Orchestra of Cateura | Favio Chavez | Argentinian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Cebu | Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra | Reynaldo Abellana | Filipino |
| Manila | Manila Symphony Orchestra | Marlon Chen | Taiwanese-American |
| Manila | Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra | Grzegorz Nowak | Polish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Gdańsk | Polish Baltic Philharmonic | George Tchitchinadze | Georgian |
| Katowice | Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop | American |
| Kraków | Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra | Charles Olivieri-Munroe | Canadian |
| Łódź | Łódź Philharmonic | Michał Nesterowicz | Polish |
| Radom | Radom Chamber Orchestra | Marek Drewnowski | Polish |
| Szczecin | Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii w Szczecinie | Rune Bergmann | Norwegian |
| Warsaw | Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrey Boreyko | Polish |
| Warsaw | Sinfonia Varsovia | (post vacant) | |
| Wrocław | NFM Wrocław Philharmonic | Giancarlo Guerrero | Costa Rican |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Lisbon | Gulbenkian Orchestra | Hannu Lintu | Finnish |
| Lisbon | Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa | Joana Carneiro | Portuguese |
| Lisbon | Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa | Pedro Amaral | Portuguese |
| Porto | Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música | Baldur Brönnimann | Swiss |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Moscow | Moscow City Symphony Orchestra | Dmitri Jurowski | Russian |
| Moscow | National Philharmonic of Russia | Vladimir Spivakov | Russian |
| Moscow | Russian National Orchestra | Mikhail Pletnev | Russian |
| Moscow | State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation | (post vacant) | |
| Saint Petersburg | Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra | Valery Gergiev | Russian |
| Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra | Nikolai Alexeev | Russian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Singapore | Singapore Symphony Orchestra | Hans Graf | Austrian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bratislava | Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra | Mario Košik | Slovak |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Ljubljana | RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra | En Shao | Chinese |
| Ljubljana | Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bucheon | Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra | Lim Hun Joung | South Korean |
| Busan | Busan Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Daegu | Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra | Julian Kovatchev | Bulgarian |
| Gyeonggi | Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra | Shi-Yeon Sung | South Korean |
| Seongnam | Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra | Gum Nanse | South Korean |
| Incheon | Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra | Chung Chiyong | South Korean |
| Seoul | KBS Symphony Orchestra | Yoel Levi | Israeli |
| Seoul | Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra | Jaap van Zweden | Dutch |
| Suwon | Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra | Kim Daejin | South Korean |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| A Coruña | Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia | Dima Slobodeniouk | Russian |
| Barcelona | Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra | Ludovic Morlot | French |
| Barcelona | Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu | Josep Pons | Spanish |
| Donostia-San Sebastian | Basque National Orchestra | Robert Treviño | American |
| Granada | City of Granada Orchestra | Andrea Marcon | Italian |
| Madrid | Spanish National Orchestra | David Afkham | German |
| Navarra | Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra | Antoni Wit | Polish |
| Oviedo | Orquesta Sinfónica Del Principado De Asturias | Rossen Milanov | Bulgarian |
| Valencia | Orquesta de Valencia | Yaron Traub | Israeli |
| Zaragoza | ORA Orquesta Reino de Aragón | Ricardo Casero | Spanish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Gävle | Gävle Symphony Orchestra | Christian Reif | German |
| Gothenburg | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Finnish |
| Malmö | Malmö Symphony Orchestra | Robert Treviño | American |
| Norrköping | Norrköping Symphony Orchestra | Karl-Heinz Steffens | German |
| Örebro | Swedish Chamber Orchestra | Martin Fröst | Swedish |
| Stockholm | Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra | Ryan Bancroft | American |
| Stockholm | Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Daniel Harding | British |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Basel | Sinfonieorchester Basel | Ivor Bolton | British |
| Bern | Bern Symphony Orchestra | Krzysztof Urbański (designate, effective 2024) | Polish |
| Geneva | Orchestre de la Suisse Romande | Jonathan Nott | British |
| Lausanne | Sinfonietta de Lausanne | Alexander Mayer | German |
| Lucerne | Lucerne Symphony Orchestra | Michael Sanderling | German |
| Winterthur | Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur | Thomas Zehetmair | Austrian |
| Zurich | Philharmonia Zürich | Gianandrea Noseda | Italian |
| Zurich | Tonhalle Orchester Zürich | Paavo Järvi | Estonian |
| Zurich | Zurich Chamber Orchestra | Daniel Hope | British |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Taipei | Taiwan Philharmonic | Jun Märkl | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Caracas | Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar | Gustavo Dudamel | Venezuelan |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Hanoi | Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra | Tetsuji Honna | Japanese |
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Conducting and directing
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