Gary Wedow

Conductor Gary Thor Wedow has been a Vocal Arts faculty member since 1994. Wedow has made conducting appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, New York City Opera, (Don Giovanni, the New York premiere of Telemann’s Orpheus, Carmen, Le nozze di Figaro, Patience, and Xerxes), Alabama Symphony, Berkshire Choral International, and others. He has made frequent appearances with Seattle Opera (Iphigenie en Tauride, La voix humaine, and Giulio Cesare), San Diego Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and many others. At Juilliard, he has conducted L’incoronazione di Poppea, Finta giardiniera, and productions of Ariodante, Don Giovanni, and Le nozze di Figaro in collaboration with director Stephen Wadsworth. He conducted the Saint Matthew Passion in 2014 with Juilliard Historical Performance. Wedow was associate conductor of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society from 1974-84. He was director of the Young Artists Training Program for the Canadian Opera Company from 1991-97, where he led La Calisto, Giasone, Sartorio’s Giulio Cesare, and the premiere of Gary Kulesha’s Red Emma. He was formerly chorus master with the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Canadian Opera Company. He has conducted for recordings and broadcasts on PBS, CBC, NPR, and Voice of America. As collaborative pianist, he made appearances with Judith Raskin, Eleanor Steber, Hugues Cuénod, Evelyn Lear among others. He has toured the U.S., Europe, and Soviet Union. Wedow studied in Austria on the Gramma Fisher Grant and is also a Julius Rudel Award recipient.

Born in LaPorte, Ind., Wedow received his bachelor’s degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and studied piano with Jorge Bolet. He received his master’s degree with distinction from New England Conservatory, where John Moriarty was his major teacher.