Alexander Mickelthwate (born 2 June 1970 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a German-born conductor who is the current music director and principal conductor of

Oklahoma City Philharmonic The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History As is the case with many American symphony orchestras, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic owes a degree of its heritage to two predecessor professi ...

Early life and education

He is one of three sons in his family, and studied piano and cello as a youth. He studied piano performance and conducting in Karlsruhe, Germany, and participated in international conducting courses in Austria and France. He took additional studies at the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Career

Mickelthwate served as Assistant Conductor of the

Atlanta Symphony The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date ba ...

through the 2003–2004 season. During his tenure there, he founded the new music ensemble ''Bent Frequency''. From 2004 to 2006, he served as Assistant Conductor of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. He was promoted to Associate Conductor for the 2006–2007 season and concluded his Los Angeles tenure in August 2007. In February 2006, Mickelthwate was named the music director of the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba. The WSO presents an average ...

(WSO), and took up the post in September 2006, with an initial contract of 3 years. In December 2008, Mickelthwate extended his contract with the orchestra through the 2012 season. His Winnipeg contract was afterward extended through the 2015–2016 season. He concluded his Winnipeg tenure at the close of the 2017–2018 season. In November 2016, Mickelthwate first guest-conducted the

. In May 2017, the orchestra named him its next music director, and he became music director beginning with the 2018–2019 season. In March 2022, Mickelthwate accepted the position as Music Director of the

Bear Valley Music Festival Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

Personal life

Mickelthwate and the fashion designer Abigail Camp married in 1997, and they have two sons.

References

External links

Biography from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Biography from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Opus3 Artists agency page

Hazard Chase agency biography of Mickelthwate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mickelthwate, Alexander Living people 1970 births German male conductors (music) 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians