Co-director of the Graduate Conducting Program

B.M. (Composition), The Juilliard School; M.A. (Music Theory), Columbia University; D.M.A. (Orchestral Conducting), Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Fulbright Fellowship at Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory of Music in Romania. Principal conducting studies with Sergiu Celibidache. Other studies: Gustav Meier, Max Rudolf, and Peter Perret. Music director, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. Formerly assistant conductor, New York Philharmonic; associate conductor, Colorado Symphony Orchestra; music director, Great Lakes National Festival of Musical Arts; music director, Music at Penn's Woods. Performances with New York and Long Island philharmonics; National, San Antonio, Columbus, Alabama, Winnipeg, Knoxville, Richmond, Colorado Springs, Windsor (Ontario), Lansing, Illinois, Kalamazoo, Maryland, Annapolis, Ann Arbor and Florida West Coast symphony orchestras; National Chamber Orchestra; Cleveland Chamber Symphony; Romanian State Philharmonics of Constantsa, Satu Mare, Sibiu and Tirgu Muresh; Aspen, Eastern and Brevard music festivals. Formerly regular commentator for NPR's Performance Today. Author of Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Music Making (Yale University Press).

Visit Markand Thakar's website at www.markandthakar.com