B R Y A N N I E S A s s i s t a n t C o n d u c t o r |
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Bryan Nies has been Assistant Conductor of the Oakland East Bay
Symphony since 2002. He also serves as Resident Conductor of Oakland Youth
Orchestra, which he led on a tour of Australia and New Zealand during the
orchestra's 40th season, and as Assistant Conductor of Festival Opera. In
addition, he conducted the first performance of the Oakland Chamber Ensemble,
and was a former assistant conductor with Opera San Jose. Pursuing an avid
interest in all musical genres, Mr. Nies has also been an associate music
director with American Musical Theater of San Jose and Theatreworks, in Palo
Alto. During the summer of 2002, Mr. Nies was honored with a Leonard Bernstein Fellowship to participate as a conductor at the Tanglewood Music Center. There he conducted performances to rave reviews in the Boston Globe. In addition, he received personal instruction with many leading professional conductors, including Michael Morgan, Roberto Abbado, Jeffery Tate, Hans Vonk, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, and Grant Llewellyn. As one of the conducting class' youngest graduates, Mr. Nies received a M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory where he studied under the tutelage of Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. He received a full assistantship in opera coaching and was the assistant conductor of the Peabody Camerata, a contemporary ensemble. While at Peabody, he was asked to be Assistant Conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra (Washington D.C.). Mr. Nies also initiated and conducted the Children's Choir as part of the Handel Choir of Baltimore, where he was Director of the Outreach Program. A native of Chicago, IL, Mr. Nies also holds a B.M. in Piano Performance and a B.A. in Psychology from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He has won numerous piano competitions in the Chicago area including a Gramma Fisher Scholarship to study at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. In addition, he has performed with William Warfield for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, as their Assistant Conductor. Mr. Nies also served on the staff of Northwestern University's Theater Department as vocal coach and piano accompanist. |