GARY LEWIS
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

Gary Lewis is the Music Director and Conductor of the West Texas Symphony orchestra. This is his 16th year with the orchestra and his 15th as Music Director. He is also Director of Orchestral Studies and the Bob and Judy Charles Professor of Conducting in the College of Music at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he conducts the University Symphony Orchestra and oversees the entire orchestra program. Mr. Lewis is equally at home with professional, university, and youth ensembles. In addition to his regular posts with the West Texas Symphony Orchestra and the University of Colorado Boulder, he serves as Principal Guest Conductor for the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and was the founding Artistic Director of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras. He has also appeared with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra (Chengdu, China), the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra, the New Symphony Orchestra (Sofia, Bulgaria), and the Western Plains Opera Theater. Lewis served as the Resident Conductor of the Pine Mountain Music Festival (opera and symphonic), for seven years and was the founding conductor of the Caprock Pro Musica. His work with summer music festivals has also been noteworthy including the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Pine Mountain Music Festival (opera and symphonic), and Rocky Ridge Music Center.

At CU Boulder, Mr. Lewis also leads the graduate program in orchestral conducting including both the masters and doctoral level. His former students are currently enjoying success as conductors with professional orchestras and opera companies, university and public school ensembles, and youth orchestras.

As a strong advocate of music education, Mr. Lewis has presented many in-service workshops for public school educators, as well as numerous presentations at state and regional music education association conferences. He has conducted All-State Orchestras and Bands in over 20 states along with the ASTA National Honor Orchestra and the Honor Orchestra of America. In 2010, Mr. Lewis became the founding Artistic Director of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras and he continues to serve as conductor of the
Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Lewis is also a strong proponent of new music. He has been instrumental in the development and production of contemporary music festivals and his interest in new music has led him to collaborations with composers such as Dan Kellogg, Carter Pann, George Crumb, William Bolcom, John Harbison, Chen Yi, Michael Daugherty, Stephen Paulus, and many others.

Gary Lewis is a Yamaha Master Educator.