BIOGRAPHY
Conductor Michael Sakir has been praised for his "artistic authority," "fluidity of expression," and "great delicacy of feeling." He serves as Artistic Director of Opera Montana (formerly Intermountain Opera Bozeman) which was recently praised by the London-based Opera Now magazine as "a small but thriving opera company that is not restrained by convention." The innovative programming, community partnerships, and robust education programs under his leadership have led to record-breaking ticket sales and company growth.
Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis with whom, in addition to conducting nearly two dozen productions, he was deeply involved in the company's groundbreaking civic practice programs, commissioning projects, and the creation of the Handorf Company Artist Program.
Recent conducting engagements include Seattle Opera and Arizona Opera in The Falling and the Rising, Des Moines Metro Opera in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges, Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei, and Laura Kaminsky's As One, Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Albert Herring, Opera Baltimore for The Turn of the Screw, Opera Idaho for Carmen, the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Bernstein's Candide, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, and Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Opera Company of Middlebury in Tchaikovksy's The Maid of Orleans, Puccini's Il trittico, Massenet's Cendrillon, Bernstein's Candide, and Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, Opera Orlando in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Mozart’s The Impresario, and Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Shreveport Opera in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Eugene Opera in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Northwestern University for Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, American Opera Projects for As One, Temple University for Le nozze di Figaro, Opera in the Ozarks for Rossini's La Cenerentola, and Opera North (NH) for Copland's The Tender Land.
Sakir has held chorus master, assistant conductor, and coach positions for nearly three dozen productions with Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Opera Boston.
Sakir holds bachelor degrees in Piano Performance and Music History from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a graduate degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Boston Conservatory. He was a participant in the 2017 OPERA America Leadership Intensive. He is a native of Northern California.
Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis with whom, in addition to conducting nearly two dozen productions, he was deeply involved in the company's groundbreaking civic practice programs, commissioning projects, and the creation of the Handorf Company Artist Program.
Recent conducting engagements include Seattle Opera and Arizona Opera in The Falling and the Rising, Des Moines Metro Opera in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges, Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei, and Laura Kaminsky's As One, Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Albert Herring, Opera Baltimore for The Turn of the Screw, Opera Idaho for Carmen, the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Bernstein's Candide, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, and Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Opera Company of Middlebury in Tchaikovksy's The Maid of Orleans, Puccini's Il trittico, Massenet's Cendrillon, Bernstein's Candide, and Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, Opera Orlando in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Mozart’s The Impresario, and Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Shreveport Opera in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Eugene Opera in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Northwestern University for Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, American Opera Projects for As One, Temple University for Le nozze di Figaro, Opera in the Ozarks for Rossini's La Cenerentola, and Opera North (NH) for Copland's The Tender Land.
Sakir has held chorus master, assistant conductor, and coach positions for nearly three dozen productions with Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Opera Boston.
Sakir holds bachelor degrees in Piano Performance and Music History from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a graduate degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Boston Conservatory. He was a participant in the 2017 OPERA America Leadership Intensive. He is a native of Northern California.