Mason Bates' The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Atlanta Opera

 

"The (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS opened brilliantly as a mainstage production of the Atlanta Opera, in its East Coast premiere, under Tomer Zvulun's taut direction and Michael Christie's smart baton. To say the audience greeted the work joyfully would be an understatement."
~Broadway World

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"The Atlanta Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Michael Christie, was at the top of its game. They sounded fully engaged in the music, contributing mightily to the opera’s vital energy and forward momentum."
~EarRelevant

 

La Bohème, Des Moines Metro Opera

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“This year’s specialties were Octavio Cardenas’ winning production of La Bohème...conducted with brisk mastery by the great Michael Christie”
~ The Independent (Kansas City)

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“Conductor Michael Christie led the orchestra in a quintessential performance of Puccini’s beautiful music.”

~ Schmopera

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“Conductor Michael Christie led an assured, stylistically sound, and dramatically pliable reading, inspiring the exceptional DMMO orchestra to respond with an ensemble effort that ranged in effects from luxuriant, to lush, to contemplative, to crackling. Maestro Christie excelled at accommodating his singers, partnering them with great finesse.”

~ Opera Today

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Civic Orchestra of Chicago

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“Michael Christie, who made his Lyric Opera conducting debut earlier this season in Verdi’s 'La Traviata,' has built an admirable reputation in the opera world. That background plus his experience of previously leading three similar programs with Ryan Opera Center singers, including one in 2014 with the Civic Orchestra, made him ideally suited for this program ... If his frequent smiles were any gauge, Christie relished collaborating with his young colleagues. He drew inspired playing from the musicians in three overtures, especially Berlioz’s “The Corsair,” which came off as every bit the action-packed mini-drama it should be, with a strong showing by the brass. Christie also provided solid support for the singers.”

~ Chicago On The Aisle

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La Traviata, Lyric Opera of Chicago

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“Michael Christie, in his Lyric debut as conductor, drew poetic commentary from the Lyric Opera Orchestra”

~ Chicago Tribune

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“And conductor Michael Christie, who has made recent marks bringing new American opera to the stage — among them 'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs' by Mason Bates, a former composer-in-residence at the Chicago Symphony — did excellent work. He encouraged the singers to indulge in their rattled characters’ most intimate reflections without losing grip of the music’s exciting forward motion.”

~ Chicago Sun-Times

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"Michael Christie makes his Lyric debut as conductor, connecting the musicians and the singers in such beautiful harmony that one easily gets lost in the arias."

~ Third Coast Review

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“And in an impressive Lyric Opera debut, conductor Michael Christie led the Lyric orchestra in the life-affirming energy of the opera’s grand waltzes and familiar 'brindisi' drinking song, and in the pathos of love and intimations of death. Viva Verdi.”

~ WTTW Chicago PBS

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“Conductor Michael Christie, making his own LOC debut with this run, brings his expertise in new music to bear on this classic score, leading the LOC orchestra with urgency and dramatic sensitivity.”

~ Schmopera

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Das Rheingold, Opéra de Montréal

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“American conductor Michael Christie led the augmented Orchestre Metropolitain as well as the vocal forces in a powerful and musically compelling performance. For me, it made the silly story worth sitting through. This was a fine Wagner performance.”

~ Times Argus

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“Finally, the Métropolitain Orchestra, augmented to 81 musicians, is directed by Michael Christie, one of the most prominent American conductors of the moment.”

~ Magazine Saison

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Huang's An American Soldier, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

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"Both the subtle colorings and pummeling intensity came through in the compelling performance the conductor Michael Christie drew from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra."

~ The New York Times

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"Conductor Michael Christie, who has shown great skill and sensitivity in the past with everything from Puccini to John Adams, once again directs the orchestra...in a persuasive performance."

~ KDHX

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Santa Rosa Symphony

 

"Christie...is an elegant conductor with balletic arm movements and a firm grasp of rhythm. He is at once restrained and expressive, an expert at using his undulating arms to lead the orchestra in thunderous crescendos and whispering diminuendos."

~ San Francisco Classical Voice

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"Conducting with restraint and precision, Christie captured the American spirit — its determination, resourcefulness and optimism — with a steady rhythmic pulse."

~ Press Democrat

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Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Minnesota Opera

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"Led by music director Michael Christie, the orchestra delivers Mozart's score with such beautiful care, creating moments of soaring passion, arch humor, aching despair, and frisky mischief, that it easily is reason enough to spend three hours at the Ordway."

~ Talkin' Broadway

"Michael Christie and the MN Opera Orchestra delivered a fine performance, and the house (which was unsurprisingly full) was energized and engaged throughout."

~ Life in Revue

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Bates' The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (world premiere), Santa Fe Opera

 

"This opera’s success is a collaborative victory. Conductor Michael Christie, director Kevin Newbury ... and a strong cast, chorus, and orchestra deserve equal credit for the opera’s mesmerizing unfolding." 

~ San Francisco Classical Voice

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"Michael Christie conducted with precision and pizzazz, and a couple of orchestral interludes truly got the adrenaline pumping." 

~ Santa Fe New Mexican

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"Michael Christie ... [gave] careful guidance to the pulsating yet delicate electro-acoustic score." 

~ MinnPost

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"Michael Christie presides over an expertly executed performance. Santa Fe Opera has a hit on its hands." 

~ Financial Times

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"Michael Christie did a fabulous job of integrating Bates' electronica with the orchestral instruments." 

~ Broadway World

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"Bates’ score, led with suave assurance by conductor Michael Christie, constantly finds ways to encapsulate a character or a dramatic situation that are accessible but rarely obvious" 

~ San Francisco Chronicle

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"New-music specialist Michael Christie, an OTSL regular, handled the score’s driving rhythms with aplomb."

~ St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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"A lot of the credit must be shared with conductor Michael Christie, whose command of the proceedings was superb, balancing forces beautifully and allowing the drama to speak via the score. Bravo."

~ Movers & Makers

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"Michael Christie, well known in Boulder as the music director of the Colorado Music Festival for 13 years, held the ensemble expertly together. There is a lot to manage, and he seemed in control every minute, managing the flow of the complex score and getting the big moments right where they should be."

~ Sharps and Flatirons

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Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

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"Madame Butterfly has one of Puccini’s most beautiful scores, and the principals do full justice to his soaring melodies, as does the orchestra conducted by Michael Christie." 

~ Playback St. Louis

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Puccini's La Bohème, Minnesota Opera

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"Music Director Michael Christie led the orchestra, which did a beautiful job with Puccini’s lush, luminous score, with its hummable melodies and memorable themes." 

~ MinnPost

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"This production also underlines the tremendous strides that the Minnesota Opera Orchestra has made since Michael Christie came on board as music director in 2012. While sculpting the ideal atmosphere and laying a beautifully balanced foundation beneath the soaring arias and duets, the orchestra did Puccini … just right." 
~ Pioneer Press

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"Presiding in the pit, Christie provided the pulse and tension that Puccini’s music requires, along with the necessary stretching of phrases to support the singers. Drawing polished sounds from the orchestra, he also made the most of the hypnotically beautiful opening minutes of Act III — Puccini at his most poetic." 

~ Star Tribune

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Mozart's Don Giovanni, Washington National Opera

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"Here [Michael Christie] delivers the wonderful textures and turns of Mozart from the first foreboding chords of the overture and introduces the gorgeous experience of hearing live orchestral music in isolation before transporting us all to the land of imagination and a grand story."

~ DC Theatre Scene

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Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Washington National Opera

 

"The orchestra led by Michael Christie played the difficult music of shifting motifs, dynamics, rhythms and harmonies with eloquence and skill. Mr Christie moved the harrowing music drama with impeccable timing and volume control." 

~ Bachtrack

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"Everything from the orchestra, masterfully led by Michael Christie, to the simple staging and light cues were all to help you focus on the subject material; forgiveness." 

~ MD Theatre Guide

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"The pace never lingers too long, let alone wallows ... thanks to the fluid and stark sets of Allen Moyer and the push of the music as propelled by conductor Michael Christie." 

~ The Georgetowner

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"Michael Christie, music director of Minnesota Opera, had a strong debut at the podium, conducting the score with authority." 

~ Washington Classical Review

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"Wonderfully conducted by Michael Christie and staged by Francesca Zambello, Dead Man Walking is a sort of mirror in which Americans can look at themselves in all of their contradictions." 

~ WQXR

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Soler's Diana's Garden, Minnesota Opera

 

"Martin y Soler’s score receives appropriately Mozartean care and energy from conductor Michael Christie and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra." 

~ Pioneer Press
 

"Michael Christie propelled Martin's graceful music with a shrewd sense of pace" 

~ Star Tribune

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Wagner's Das Rheingold, Minnesota Opera

 

"Michael Christie’s direction kept the proceedings under tight control, his conducting emphasizing clarity throughout. The augmented Minnesota Opera Orchestra played idiomatically, conjuring up an imposing Wagnerian sound at all the right moments including the procession of the gods into Valhalla, surely one of the most thrilling musical moments in all of opera." 

~ BachTrack

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"Yet the highest praise should be reserved for those given the tallest task: conductor Michael Christie and the orchestra. From the hypnotic, slow-building opening to the final triumphal entry into Valhalla, they offer non-stop transportation to a magical world." 

~ Pioneer Press

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"Leading the orchestra, Christie sustained tension and clarity throughout the non-stop two-and-a-half-hour course of the opera and drew polished playing from the musicians." 

~ Star Tribune

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"Michael Christie, music director of the Minnesota Opera provided strong, sensitive and secure leadership to the consistently fine playing orchestra. Never overpowering the singers, never under powering them as well." 

~ Wagner Society of Southern California

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Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet, Minnesota Opera

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"... the company has brought the opera back in a new eye-filling production with a smart cast, thoughtful staging by Matthew Ozawa and persuasive conducting by Michael Christie." 

~ Star Tribune

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"The true star of the opera in my book, however, was undeniably Maestro Michael Christie, who, like an elite athlete, exerted just enough energy to convey exactly what he wanted from his orchestra, one of the best in the business in my book." 

~ Opera Sense

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Colorado Music Festival

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"... something about Christie's presence on the Chautauqua Auditorium stage Thursday evening that seemed comforting, reassuring, and yes, unifying.... Christie was in simultaneous communion with both the orchestra and the soloist in an almost transcendent way."

~ Daily Camera

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The Shining, Minnesota Opera

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"The orchestral interludes in the first act, Wendy’s fervent aria (“I never stopped loving you”) and ensuing lullaby, the 1940s swing-band number with its gauzy sonority — all were effective touches in Moravec’s generous, abundant score, all of which sounded wonderful under the guidance of conductor Michael Christie."
~ Star Tribune

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"It’s a demanding score, but conductor Michael Christie and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra shape it with a deft blend of strength and subtlety." 
~ Pioneer Press

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"The Minnesota Opera Orchestra, under the heroic leadership of Michael Christie, gave an exceptionally polished performance of the churning, continuously challenging score." 
~ Opera News

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"Moravec’s richly textured orchestral writing--vividly shaped by conductor Michael Christie--is particularly impressive in establishing the center of gravity for each rapidly unfolding scene."
~Musical America

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"The orchestra, conducted by Michael Christie, is flawless and seamless as we journey into this dark night of the soul." 
~ Lavender Magazine

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"Minnesota Opera’s music director Michael Christie teases out every drop of atmosphere and drama in the score while still being attentive to his singers at all times." 
~ L'Étoile Magazine

 

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Lyric Opera of Chicago Rising Stars in Concert

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"Such a varied line-up of singers and repertoire was a challenge, but conductor Michael Christie provided solid, unflappable support in the pit. Music director of the Minnesota Opera since 2012 and a frequent guest conductor elsewhere, he certainly counts as a rising star as well."
~Chicago Sun-Times

 

The Manchurian Candidate, Minnesota Opera

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"(Puts's) score was quite well served by conductor Michael Christie, who achieved excellent balance and revelation of orchestral detail throughout the night."
~Opera News

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"As the opera begins, the mood-setting orchestral music is compellingly ominous, especially in the nuanced, colorful playing that the conductor Michael Christie draws from the orchestra."
~The New York Times

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"This opera is another winner, an exciting roller-coaster ride that manages to make telling political points relevant to today, all wrapped in a superbly imaginative production directed by Kevin Newbury and conducted with flair by Michael Christie."
~Star Tribune

 

27, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

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"Michael Christie conducts members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with style, panache and clarity."
~St. Louis Post-Dispatch CD Review

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"...It's got a top-notch conductor of new works in Michael Christie, a veteran of other contemporary operas at OTSL."
~St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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"Musically and vocally it's a flawless evening. Conductor Michael Christie gets wonders from his orchestra."
~Broadway World

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"Conductor Michael Christie led an assured reading in the pit, and elicited a sense of spontaneity and discovery that were infectious. The orchestra has never sounded better or more vibrant, finding a beautiful arc to the piece and filling it with haunting detail."
~Opera Today

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"Michael Christie's conducting was superb, and the music often sounded majestic in the fine hands of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra members, reminiscent of a sweeping film score."
~Belleville News Democrat

 

Rochester Philharmonic/Spring for Music

 

"Michael Christie...offered a well-prepared and meticulously executed performance."
~The New York Times

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"With clarity and intensity, guest conductor Michael Christie of the Minnesota Opera demonstrated a fluid conducting pattern and a grand style that was well-suited to the straightforward melodicism in the score."
~Democrat & Chronicle

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"At Carnegie Hall, Michael Christie and the Rochester Philharmonic showed just how thrilling this opera can be."
~New York Classical Review

 

Minnesota Orchestra

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"Impressively led by Michael Christie, best known locally as music director of the Minnesota Opera, the program featured the Twin Cities orchestral debut of pianist Daniil Trifonov, a fiery young Russian hypervirtuoso...Beginning with a pianissimo worthy of Osmo Vänskä, Christie and colleagues built Ravel’s 17-minute crescendo exactingly, with close attention to the composer’s sometimes-exotic sonorities..."
~Star Tribune

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"The conductor, Minnesota Opera music director Michael Christie, clearly came in with strong interpretive ideas and communicated them well." 
~Pioneer Press

 

Macbeth, Minnesota Opera

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"Conductor Michael Christie melds fire and ice; he has a keen ear for Verdi’s inventive sonorities."
~Star Tribune

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"Kudos are due conductor Michael Christie for bringing about such a balanced blend."
~Pioneer Press

Handel's Messiah, Phoenix Symphony

"…his breathtaking interpretation of the Christmas oratorio lit up the Ikeda stage at Mesa Arts Center last night."
~Examiner.com

 

Silent Night on PBS, Minnesota Opera

 

"Michael Christie, a champion of fresh work, conducts."
~The Denver Post

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"Conductor Michael Christie, a veteran of new works at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, brings it all together musically.”
~St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

Arabella, Minnesota Opera

 

"Under music director Michael Christie’s supple baton, the orchestra…responds superbly to Strauss’ sophisticated score."
~Star Tribune

 

"In this staging, Strauss' demanding music is handled with exceptional care by an outstanding cast, conductor Michael Christie and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra." 
~Pioneer Press

 

"Music director Michael Christie does an excellent job."
~Aisle Say Twin Cities

 

Manon Lescaut, Minnesota Opera

 

"The orchestra, 60 strong, glowed under music director Michael Christie, who deftly balanced propulsion and reflection."
~Star Tribune

 

"All of the leads use their strong, supple voices to excellent effect, but the Minnesota Opera Orchestra is equally striking. Under Michael Christie's dynamic direction, it makes a convincing case that Puccini was as much a master of melody in his orchestration as in his arias, even at this early stage of his career."
~Pioneer Press

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, San Francisco Opera

“The conductor Michael Christie draws plush colorings and shimmering sounds from the orchestra.”
~The New York Times

“Michael Christie conducts with conviction.”
~Los Angeles Times

“In the pit, debuting conductor Michael Christie led a rapturous, long-breathed performance.”
~San Francisco Chronicle

“Bringing the best out of the score, debuting conductor Michael Christie does impressive work in the pit.”
~San Francisco Examiner

“Making his company debut, Michael Christie conducted with clarity and point.”
~The Classical Review

“There was a lot of obvious talent, sincerity, and musicality on display from everyone, including the orchestra under Michael Christie.”
~Civic Center

"Conductor Michael Christie… invest[s] the music with everything [he’s] got… Christie does his best to harness Adamo’s musical argument. He does so splendidly.”
~Seen and Heard International

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"Conductor Michael Christie, who, like Sasha Cooke, was making his first appearance with the San Francisco Opera, led the proceedings confidently, balancing the orchestra well with the singers, who had a great deal of text in English to deliver, and allowing Adamo’s varied and evocative orchestration to shine."
~NewMusicBox

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Phoenix Symphony

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"Michael Christie has been conducting this orchestra for a number of years and he knows how to get the best playing from it. His musicians responded with a clear, clean, and tonally beautiful performance."
~Music & Vision Magazine

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"Michael Christie pens a dynamic, colorful performance, navigating assertively through what appears to be a fairly complex orchestral texture...In our times of abominable orchestral timidity, Christie is not afraid of striking effects and grand rhetoric now and then. The delivery of both pieces is unbridled, drama-laden and full-blooded. No wonder the audience responded with unabashed enthusiasm."
~ConcertoNet.com

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“If we have forgotten that music is meant to give pleasure, it is Christie’s gift to remind us.”
~Arizona Republic

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“Christie led his players with total control and yet with a freedom that exhilarated…”
~AZ Lifestyle

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“With a sophisticated and polished style on the podium, Michael Christie turned heads when he joined The Phoenix Symphony in 2005. His boyish good looks, enthusiastic spirit and deft swipes of the baton made symphony fans take note. Mature beyond his 34 years, the music director has since made a tremendous impact in Phoenix as both an artistic and community leader. He is personable, articulate and persuasive, and the orchestra has never sounded better, with concerts that are imaginative and inspiring. And more seats are selling than ever before.”
~Phoenix Magazine

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"The orchestra under conductor Michael Christie performed the pieces crisply and expressively."
~Arizona Republic

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Silent Night, Opera Philadelphia

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"Michael Christie conducts the score with great sensitivity and draws beautifully detailed playing form the Opera Philadelphia orchestra."
~The Baltimore Sun

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"Conductor Michael Christie leads the ensemble in a bracing performance of the colorful score."
~Associated Press

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Anna Bolena, Minnesota Opera

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"This (production) has the most consistently excellent cast, propulsive leadership in the pit by music director Michael Christie, and a rich payoff in the final scene."
~The Post-Bulletin

 

"Conductor Michael Christie’s treatment of the score allowed the delicacy of Donizetti’s music and the emotion of the performers to shine through."
~Examiner.com

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Nabucco, Minnesota Opera

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"The sheer number of people on stage (a chorus of Hebrew slaves and Assyrian fighters 57 voices strong, plus more than 20 extras and 10 dancers), combined with consistently tight, muscular playing from the orchestra below, led by the company’s newly named musical director, Michael Christie, lend the vivid proceedings on stage gravitas and historical sweep."
~Knight Arts

 

"Christie, who lives in Rochester, was taking his first bows on the podium as music director, and he was clearly in command of the vast forces on stage as well as the orchestra."
~The Post-Bulletin

 

"The Minnesota Opera Orchestra sounded terrific on conductor Michael Christie's maiden voyage as music director."
~Pioneer Press

 

 

Alice in Wonderland, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

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"Michael Christie conducted with remarkable precision and flair, securing a tight performance from 46 musicians of the St. Louis Symphony."
~Chicago Tribune

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"Chin’s score is already as anarchic and surreal as the book itself, and under Michael Christie’s mercurial baton, the St Louis Symphony Orchestra beguiled."
~The Telegraph

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"Conducting a well-drilled Saint Louis Symphony, Michael Christie is in sure command of the score."
~Financial Times

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"Michael Christie, the show’s conductor, continues here to build his reputation as one of America’s foremost advocates for contemporary operas."
~Out West Arts

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"Add fine contributions by quite a few additional characters, chorus and orchestra, skillfully coordinated by conductor Michael Christie. It was quite an evening."
~Dallas Morning News

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"Conductor Michael Christie brought the complicated score together with precision."
~St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

Madame Butterfly, Minnesota Opera

 

"Conductor Michael Christie, who was named the company's music director in January, drew a vigorous, well-paced, opulent performance from the orchestra."
~Star Tribune

 

"First and best credit has to go to conductor Michael Christie—incoming music director of the Minnesota Opera—and his sterling band, who deliver a reading of Puccini's score that's supple and entrancing."
~TC Daily Planet

 

"The company's new music director, Michael Christie, shapes the blend of voices and orchestra impressively."
~Pioneer Press

 

Silent Night, Minnesota Opera

 

"Conductor Michael Christie and the men’s chorus of the Minnesota Opera were particularly essential to this success—a post-battle chorus praising the escapism of sleep twinkled with unsettling longing."
~WQXR Operavore

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"The score is a rich listen, under the deft baton of Michael Christie."
~TC Daily Planet

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The Death of Klinghoffer, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

 

"Conducting a new, reduced orchestration prepared by the composer for the occasion, Michael Christie, along with members of the Saint Louis Symphony, handsomely captures the repetitions and shifting colors of Adams’ score."
~The Classical Review

 

"The repetitions and shifting colours of Adams’s score are handsomely captured by conductor Michael Christie and members of the Saint Louis Symphony, and the opera’s important choral component is projected surely."
~Financial Times

"Film projections of the roiling, frothing ship's wake mirrored the undulations of Adams' rich, subtly layered score, excellently played by members of the St. Louis Symphony under Michael Christie."
~Chicago Tribune

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"Michael Christie was the fine conductor, balancing the electronic and acoustic elements of the score for maximum lyricism and detail."
~Wall Street Journal

"On opening night Michael Christie, the conductor, drew consistently exciting work from the St. Louis Symphony members in the pit."
~The New York Times

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"The music in 'Klinghoffer' varies from lyrical to edgy, mechanistic to ecstatic. Conductor Michael Christie brought out its beauty and kept everyone together."
~St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Conductor Michael Christie leads the orchestra of St. Louis Symphony musicians (augmented by keyboardists Adam Burnette and Andrea Grant) through Adams’s demanding music with consummate skill."
~ KDHX

Wuthering Heights, Minnesota Opera

 

"Punctuated by many solo moments, Wuthering Heights as drama is essentially through-composed, in light of which Christie kept a sensitive finger on the pulse of the score."
~ Opera Today

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"Conductor Michael Christie drew a polished, passionate performance from the orchestra, and Herrmann's many brief but telling woodwind solos came through beautifully."
~ MinnPost

The Ghosts of Versailles, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Wexford Festival Opera and Aspen Music Festival

"Major credit for the success of Aspen’s Ghosts goes, however, to Michael Christie, who conducted both the St. Louis and Wexford performances of the revised score."
~ Opera Today

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"The baton was successfully passed the very next night to another conductor whose stock is rising, Michael Christie, who helmed a musically rich reading of The Ghosts of Versailles, by John Corigliano."
~ Opera Today

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Colorado Music Festival

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"Christie himself is almost solely responsible for what the festival is today, a vibrant, financially sound institution that is more deeply entwined with Boulder's larger music scene than ever before."
~ Daily Camera

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"Christie proved his ever-evolving skill as a conductor, shaping each phrase of the sunny, exuberant score with certainty and tremendous sensibility."
~ The Denver Post

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"It was Christie's articulate, artistic approach that made for the most satisfying musical experience in recent memory."
~ The Denver Post

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"Thankfully, Christie drew out from the fine festival players the true essence of the work's lush orchestration ranging from emotional, prayerful overtones to the contrasting playfulness of spinning, escalating dance tunes."
~ The Denver Post

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“Classical music is undergoing a renaissance thanks to the likes of Michael Christie…Christie’s conducting is not merely spellbinding, but profound and penetrating.”
~ Daily Camera

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“Christie pays homage to the classics with deft swipes of his baton, but he is also engaged in attracting a younger audience and creating a non-threatening environment for the classically initiated and uninitiated alike.”
~ Boulder Weekly

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“It still seems like a short time ago that a young Michael Christie took the reins of a struggling organization that played to an auditorium barely half-full of patrons largely over 50. Nine years and constant full houses later, and with a fairy tale string of professional and personal success, what Christie has accomplished at Chautauqua truly is a miracle.”
~ Daily Camera

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“Michael Christie is innovative, energetic and enthusiastic—he is simply a joy to behold. The orchestra responds well to Michael, the soloists shine and the audience seems thrilled. The program choices are provocative, and I always leave with a renewed spirit and sense of wonder, and respect for Michael and the musicians.”
~ Colorado Music Festival patron

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