Michael Palmer (born 8 May 1945, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American orchestral conductor. Since 1993 he has served as Artistic Director of the annual Bellingham Festival of Music (Bellingham, Washington, United States).
After receiving his bachelor of music from Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Palmer began his professional career at age 21 when he became Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1967, for which he was later named Associate Conductor. [1] In that capacity he also became the first director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra in 1974. In 1975 he was one of the first young conductors to be selected as an EXXON/Arts Endowment Conductor by the National Endowment for the Arts.
He left the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1977 to become Music Director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra (1977–1990), followed by posts of Music Director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (1989–1997) and the American Sinfonietta (1991–2002).
Palmer also was Guest Conductor for three seasons for the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1978–1981) and a Co-Principal Guest Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra (1979–1982). He has also held academic conducting posts as Director of Orchestras for Wichita State University (1999–2004) and Georgia State University (2004–present) where he is the Charles Worm Distinguished Professor of Orchestral Studies.
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor, author and composer.
Robert Lawson Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.
Andrew Litton is an American orchestral conductor. Litton is a graduate of The Fieldston School. He studied piano with Nadia Reisenberg and conducting with Sixten Ehrling at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree and his Master of Music degree from in piano and conducting. He also received lessons in conducting from Walter Weller at the Salzburg Mozarteum and Edoardo Müller in Milan. His early teachers included John DeMaio. The youngest-ever winner of the BBC International Conductors Competition in 1982, he served as Assistant Conductor at Teatro alla Scala and Exxon/Arts Endowment Assistant Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C. under Mstislav Rostropovich (1982-1985), where subsequently he was Associate Conductor (1985-1986). Litton was a participant in the Affiliate Artists Exxon-Arts Endowment Conductors Program. In 2003, he was awarded Yale University's Sanford Medal.
The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, commonly known as the ASYO, is an organization featuring Atlanta's young instrumentalists, created in 1974. Each May, about 300 middle to high school instrumentalists go through one or more auditions for places in the ASYO. Only about 100 will be selected to participate in the season.
Robert Spano is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Aspen Music Festival and School, principal conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, and music director laureate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO).
Árpád Joó was a Hungarian American conductor and concert pianist.
Paul Schuyler Phillips is an American conductor, composer and music scholar. He is the Gretchen B. Kimball Director of Orchestral Studies, with the rank of Associate Professor in Teaching, at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia. He maintains an international career as a guest conductor and composer. As a scholar, he is best known for his writings on Igor Stravinsky and Anthony Burgess.
Chosei Komatsu is a Japanese conductor who, from 2003-2010, was Artistic Director of Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Also, after five years as Music Director of Japan’s Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra, he assumed the title of Conductor Laureate.
The Bellingham Festival of Music is a classical music festival held annually in Bellingham, Washington, USA, over several weeks during the summer. It was established in 1993, with American orchestral conductor Michael Palmer as its Founder and Artistic Director.
Daniel Hege is an American orchestral conductor. He is currently the music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Binghamton Philharmonic, and is the principal guest conductor of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. Hege previously served as the music director of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He also makes numerous guest appearances with orchestras and music festivals across the country.
Manny Laureano is an American trumpet player and conductor.
The Wichita Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is the oldest professional symphony orchestra in Kansas, performing out of Century II Concert Hall in downtown Wichita. It was founded in 1944.
Tõnu Kalam is an American orchestral pianist and conductor. He is best known as the music director of the UNC Symphony Orchestra at The University of North Carolina. He is also the former music director of the Longview Symphony Orchestra.
Alan Heatherington is one of the leading orchestra conductors in Illinois. He has conducted and/or played with virtually all of the major orchestras in the Chicago area. He was the Music Director of Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Master Singers, and is Music Director Emeritus of all three ensembles.
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra located in Windsor, Ontario. The orchestra performs in Southwestern Ontario, playing both classical and popular music.
Markand Thakar is an American conductor and music director emeritus of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (BCO).
Kevin R. McMahon is an American, orchestra/opera conductor, composer/orchestrator/arranger, clinician/adjudicator, and violinist.
Thomas Alphonso Wilkins is an American orchestra conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Artistic Advisor, Education and Community Engagement of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Virginia Symphony.
The National Repertory Orchestra (NRO) is an American summer symphony orchestra that offers full fellowships to train young professional musicians for careers in music through performances, masterclasses and workshops. Based in Breckenridge, Colorado since 1993, its members, who range in age from 18 to 29, are selected from auditions held each year throughout the United States. NRO presents a summer music festival including two orchestral programs per week conducted by its Music Director, Michael Stern. The orchestra was founded in 1960 by cellist and conductor Walter Charles. Carl Topilow was Music Director from 1978 - 2020 and continues with the orchestra as the Music Advisor. The NRO was formerly known as the Blue Jeans Symphony based in Estes Park, Colorado, and later as the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra based in Evergreen, Colorado.
Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.