Our Conductor
Dr. Jeffrey Stirling has been our conductor for over eight years. Conductor Jeffrey Stirling lives in the Twin Cities where he is the Music Director of the Northeast Orchestra. Dr. Stirling is also the music director of the Saint Paul Civic Symphony, the First Unitarian Orchestra and is a conductor for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS). In recent seasons Dr. Stirling has been a guest conductor with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and a cover conductor with the Minnesota Orchestra. Stirling has also directed orchestra programs at the University of Minnesota School of Music and St. Cloud State University as well as Luther, Gustavus Adolphus and Colby colleges. He has toured internationally and appeared as a guest conductor for opera and concert performances.
Stirling holds degrees from Yale and Northwestern University, and pursued advanced training in France at the Paris Conservatory and with the late Charles Bruck. In 2001 Stirling was chosen by Leonard Slatkin to take part in the National Conducting Institute with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Stirling also has participated in conducting programs at the Tanglewood Festival, the Salzburg Summer Academy and in international Master Classes. His mentors have included Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Marin Alsop and Victor Yampolsky.
Stirling plays viola himself, and his wife, Shari Speer, is often a vocal soloist with our orchestra, and occasionally pitches in with our percussion section. Jeff and Shari live in St. Paul.
To view the work of other orchestras that Jeffrey Stirling is associated with with click on these links:
www.gtcys.org - Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies
www.saintpaulcivicsymphony.org - Saint Paul Civic Symphony