Philharmonia Northwest is conducting a search for its next Music Director! After months of deliberation, we’re proud to present our four outstanding finalists – Christopher T. F. Hanson, Michael Wheatley, Stephen Rogers Radcliffe, and Bobby Collins – each of whom will present a concert with the orchestra throughout our 2023-24 Season. Join us in welcoming these conductors to our podium, and help us write the next chapter in Philharmonia Northwest history!
Read below to get to know our finalists, as well as find dates, venues, and more information for each of their performances.
See all four finalists’ concerts, plus our holiday concert with Kirkland Choral Society, for one low price – buy Season Tickets! Click here to order.
Active as a conductor and classical music educator, Maestro Wheatley is the Music Director and Conductor of Skagit Symphony. Prior to this, he held the posts of Assoc. Conductor of the American Youth Philharmonic, Music Director of the Seven Hills Sinfonietta (Cincinnati, OH), and Assoc. 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, his orchestra has grown by over a third to nearly 80 musicians, has 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 (Univ. 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.
Since 2015, Bobby Collins has served as Music Director and Co-Founder for The Sound Ensemble, a Seattle-based chamber orchestra that promotes diversity and equity, while seeking to be at the forefront of what it means to be a relevant orchestra in the 21st Century. He has also served as Music Director of Seattle Festival Orchestra since 2018, where he established the ensemble as the only orchestra in Seattle providing consistent, year-round access to great orchestral music for kids. In addition to this, Bobby serves as Assistant Conductor for Yakima Symphony Orchestra, a music educator, and guest conductor. With a repertoire spanning the ancient to the contemporary, Bobby has worked as a conductor and educator with the entire spectrum of orchestras.
As Co-Founder and Music Director, Bobby has contributed heavily to the growth and development of The Sound Ensemble. His work has helped establish TSE as one of the leading new music ensembles in the region. Bobby is uniquely gifted at crafting engrossing programs to enrich and entertain diverse audiences. With both Seattle Festival Orchestra and The Sound Ensemble, he has been instrumental in developing educational programs that engage kids of all ages in classical music.
Bobby has also appeared in concert with orchestras such as St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Skagit Symphony, Saratoga Orchestra, Rainier Symphony, Cascade Symphony, Thalia Symphony, and Inverted Space Ensemble, as well as the Ludus and Leavenworth Summer Theater’s pit orchestras.