Michael Wheatley, Music Director

Active as a conductor and classical music educator, Maestro Wheatley is the Music Director and Conductor of Skagit Symphony. Previously, he held the posts of Associate Conductor of the American Youth Philharmonic, Music Director of the Seven Hills Sinfonietta (Cincinnati, OH), and Associate Conductor of the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure with the Seven Hills Sinfonietta, Maestro Wheatley established a reputation as a builder of orchestras and audiences. Now leading Skagit Symphony along similar evolutionary steps, our orchestra has grown by over a third to nearly 80 musicians, debuted an annual Skagit Pops! concert program, and has set new records in season subscribers and concert goers.

Dr. Wheatley has led professional orchestras on three continents, most recently in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, and in the USA with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Southern Illinois Music Festival, and the Cincinnati Chamber Opera. Equally dedicated to guiding young orchestral players, he has led the student orchestras of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, the Pierre Monteux School Festival Orchestra, the Eastman School of Music, and the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony (Russia).

Dr. Wheatley’s conducting teachers have included Christopher Zimmerman, David Zinman, Vassily Sinaisky, and Neil Varon. He is an alumnus of the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, Peter the Great Music Academy (Russia), and the College-Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati). In 2019 he was awarded his Doctorate of Music Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. He has collaborated with soprano Renée Fleming, violinist David Kim, clarinetist Eric Mandat, pianist Sandra Wright Shen, and Pulitzer-winning composers John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Kevin Puts, and Jennifer Higdon.

In addition to his work as a conductor, Dr. Wheatley is a frequent clinician and also performs as a violinist. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with members of the Grammy-winning LaSalle and Tokyo String Quartets. He has recorded on the Centaur and Claremont record labels.