Alexander Mickelthwate (born 2 June 1970 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is a German-born conductor who is the current music director and principal conductor of Oklahoma City Philharmonic. AlexanderMickelthwate

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 university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Career

Mickelthwate served as Assistant Conductor of the

Atlanta Symphony Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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 (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. 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 (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 Oklahoma City Philharmonic. 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.

Personal life

Mickelthwate and the fashion designer Abigail Camp married in 1997, and they have two sons. Mickelthwate and Camp divorced in 2024.

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