Jeffery Meyer (Conductor)

Jeffery Meyer is the Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in Russia as well as the Director of Orchestras at Arizona State University. He has appeared with orchestras in the United States and abroad, including ensembles such as the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony, Orquesta Sinaloa de las Artes and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa. In recent concert seasons, he has performed as a conductor and chamber musician throughout North America, Europe, China, Russia, and Southeast Asia.

Called “one of the most interesting and creatively productive conductors working in St. Petersburg” by Sergei Slonimsky, Meyer’s work with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic has been noted for its breadth and innovation. The New York Times described his performances with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic in its United States debut at Symphony Space’s 2010 “Wall-to-Wall, Behind the Wall” Festival in New York City as “impressive”, “powerful”, “splendid”, and “blazing.” His programming has been recognized with three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, as well as two Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Awards for Programming. In 2007, he made his Glinka Hall conducting debut in the final concert of the 43rd St. Petersburg “Musical Spring” International Festival, he conducted the opening concert of the 14th International Musical Olympus Festival at the Hermitage Theatre and was invited back to perform in the 2011 festival. He was the guest conductor of the 2011 Beijing International Composition Workshop at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, and in 2012 conducted at the Thailand International Composition Festival. He has been distinguished in several international competitions and was a prizewinner in the 2008 X. International Conducting Competition “Antonio Pedrotti” and the winner of the 2013 American Prize in Conducting.

As a pianist, Meyer has been in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Aspen Music Festival. He performs frequently with percussionist Paul Vaillancourt as part of the piano-percussion duo Strike, which, in January 2010, released an album of world-premiere recordings of works written for the duo on Luminescence Records, Chicago.

Passionate about working with young musicians and music education, Meyer is the Director of Orchestras at Arizona State University, one of the top schools of music in the United States, and is an active adjudicator, guest clinician, and masterclass teacher. Prior to his appointment at ASU, he was the Director of Orchestras at Ithaca College for over a decade. He has given masterclasses throughout the United States as well as Canada and Asia, and recently led conducting masterclasses at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, Tianjin Conservatory, the Jacobs School at Indiana University, the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Meyer holds degrees in piano as well as composition and completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with Gilbert Kalish at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.