Director of Orchestras
Michael Palmer has long been considered one of this country's finest conductors. In addition to appearances in The United States, he has also appeared in Europe as a guest conductor in Austria and Poland, where his performances have brought him critical acclaim.
In 1993, Michael Palmer became Artistic Director of the Bellingham Festival of Music. Under his artistic leadership the Festival has become internationally recognized for its high artistic level. Festival concerts are heard across the nation on NPR and feature some of the finest orchestral musicians and major guest artists from the United States and abroad.
Michael Palmer began his career at age 21, when he went to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Conductor at the invitation of Robert Shaw. He was soon made Associate Conductor and his work with the Orchestra grew in scope and stature. He conducted the Orchestra on numerous occasions each season, including major subscription concerts and on tour. In addition, while there, he founded and was Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.
While in Atlanta, Michael Palmer was honored as one of five of the first conductors in the United States chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts to be Exxon Arts Endowment Conductor and he was soon in demand with orchestras throughout the country. While continuing in his post in Atlanta, he was appointed Guest Conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra for a three-year period. He also worked extensively with the National Symphony Orchestra during this period and he was, subsequently, named Co-Principal Guest Conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
After 10 years in Atlanta as Associate Conductor, Mr. Palmer accepted the appointment as Music Director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his 13-year tenure, he developed the Orchestra to a high artistic level. Following his tenure in Wichita, Michael Palmer became Music Director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. His tenure in New Haven was recognized widely for its artistic accomplishment and for building the Orchestra to one of the finest of its kind in the nation. During the Orchestra's 100th anniversary celebration, Mr. Palmer conducted the NHSO in its critically acclaimed debut on the Visiting Orchestra Series at Carnegie Hall.
Michael Palmer has appeared on the podiums of many orchestras throughout the United States as a guest conductor. These have included the Rochester Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony, and many others. In 1991, Mr. Palmer founded The American Sinfonietta, which toured Europe for ten seasons under his leadership, playing in the major concert halls of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and to the highest critical praise. The European press hailed Michael Palmer as having created, "America's answer to England's Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields."
Michael Palmer's recordings include an all-Mendelssohn disc for Summit Records and the Five Beethoven Piano Concerti with pianist, Garrick Ohlsson, on the Natural Soundfields label. Mr. Palmer may also be heard with the Rochester Philharmonic on the New World label.
In 1999, Michael Palmer accepted the invitation to become Director of Orchestras at Wichita State University. His activities as a music educator have included helping to organize and guest conduct the Wichita All-City High School Orchestra, serving as clinician conductor for several high school orchestras throughout the State of Kansas, and conducting the Wichita State University School of Music annual String Festival. In 2000, he took the Wichita State University Symphony Orchestra to the internationally prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, where they were invited to perform the opening evening concert. The program included Mahler's Symphony No. 1, as well as the Rhapsody for Bassoon and Orchestra by Walter Mays, WSU Distinguished Professor of Composition. At WSU Mr. Palmer also taught Advanced Orchestral Conducting to a select few Masters Degree candidates.