Michael Repper (born September 25, 1990) is an American orchestral

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and the music director of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Neck Orchestra, and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. He served as Music Director of the

New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Chamber Music, J ...

until 2023, during which time the ensemble won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Orchestral Performance. He was the conducting fellow of the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

from 2014 to 2016.

Early life and education

Repper was born in Orange, California to Claudia Gold Repper, an emergency physician, and David Repper. He graduated from the

Orange County School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...

in 2008, and received a Bachelors of Arts (2012) and Masters of Arts in music (2013) from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. In 2022, he graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music as a

Doctor of Musical Arts The doctor of musical arts (DMA) is a doctorate, doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually Performance, music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-le ...

, a student of

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop (; born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor. She is the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate of the Baltimor ...

and

Gustav Meier Gustav Meier (13 August 1929 – 26 May 2016) was a Swiss-born conductor and director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He was also Music Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orche ...

Career

Early career

Repper grew up in Orange County, California and attended the

Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...

's family concerts with his grandmother, where he was inspired to take piano lessons. He was invited to study piano in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

with Nehama Patkin when he was 8 years old, and it was in Australia that he conducted an orchestra for the first time. After he returned to the United States when he was 9, he began to study conducting formally with

. After attending

, Michael attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with

and served as the Assistant Conductor of the Peabody Orchestras and Choruses. He was also the Conducting Fellow of the Baltimore Symphony.

Music director

In 2016, Repper became the 17th music director of the

, which performs at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Under his direction, the New York Youth Symphony earned international honors, winning a Classical Digital Award in 2020 and the

Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

in 2023, becoming the first youth orchestra in history to achieve this recognition. Repper became the music director of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in 2022. He is regularly seen as a guest conductor in the United States and around the world.

Honors and achievements

* 2020, 2021, 2022 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Awards * Classical Music Digital Award 2020: Best Lockdown Project (Mahler Symphony No. 1, Mvt 2 – New York Youth Symphony) * #1 Billboard Traditional Classical Chart: Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Florence Price (New York Youth Symphony)

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

References

External links

Official website

New York Youth Symphony Artistic Profile

Carnegie Hall Performance History

Repper on Classical Minnesota Public Radio

An Album of Unity: Gramophone Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Repper, Michael 1990 births Living people American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American musicians