American conductor Timothy Myers enjoys a career that encompasses a wide breadth of opera and symphonic repertoire, as well as a continued commitment to quality long-term relationships with institutions and artists.
Noteworthy recent engagements have included concerts with the North Carolina Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, Adams’ Doctor Atomic and R. Strauss’ Capriccio with Curtis Opera Theatre, a Lyric Opera of Chicago debut conducting “Rising Stars in Concert,” and the workshop of Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s commission for the Metropolitan Opera, Intimate Apparel.
In 2016 Myers made his European debut with a highly acclaimed production of Barber’s Vanessa at Wexford Festival Opera, where he returns in 2017 to lead a highly anticipated new production of Jacopo Foroni’s rediscovered Margherita, marking the opera’s first performances since 1852.
Also in the 17/18 season Myers continues his long affiliation with Houston Grand Opera conducting Bernstein’s West Side Story; a debut with Florida Grand Opera leading his first Salomé; Samson et Dalila in concert for his return as a guest conductor at North Carolina Opera; a double-bill of I pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi at Utah Opera; and Sweeney Todd at Atlanta Opera. Future seasons include debuts at Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera, Austin Opera, and the Winston-Salem Symphony as a music director finalist.
An experienced collaborator in the creation of new works, Myers has conducted world premieres at Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Opera Africa. He is currently involved in the development of a new work for Minnesota Opera, of which he will conduct the world premiere in 2019.
With the close of the 16/17 season, Myers concluded his nearly decade-long tenure as the Artistic and Music Director of North Carolina Opera, where Myers’ work inspired a precipitous rise in the performance standard and the forging of collaborations with multiple local and national organizations. Repertoire highlights from his tenure include Das Rheingold, Act II of Tristan und Isolde and Act I of Die Walküre, Eugene Onegin and Rusalka.
A protégé of Lorin Maazel, Myers was the first associate conductor of the Castleton Festival, where he led multiple symphonic and opera performances over his tenure. Myers has conducted the American, Jerusalem, Beijing NCPA, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland (ME), Toledo, Chautauqua, Tulsa and Palm Beach symphony orchestras, the Malaysian, Johannesburg and Brooklyn philharmonic orchestras, and appeared at the Wolf Trap, Central City, Castleton, and Music Academy of the West festivals.
Concerts and Tickets
Timothy Myers leads a program of music by Jennifer Higdon, Missy Mazzoli, Ravel’s G Major piano concerto with Dmitri Vorobiev, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. Concerts November 4 and 6, 2018.
Timothy Myers on Social Media
Q & A
Tell us a unique story that has shaped who you are:
I had the great fortune to have a close mentoring relationship with Lorin Maazel. For a long time, I carried an inferiority complex that told me my potential as a conductor was limited because I didn‘t come from a lineage of well-known musicians, didn‘t go to the famous schools, etc.
One day after a performance I was sitting with Maestro Maazel and, in a very grandfatherly kind of way, he said „You know, you don‘t need to worry about managers and publicists and all of that. Your job is be better on day two than on day one, and keep doing that. If you keep that up, you‘re going to be really damn good.“
It was a turning point in my life, when I saw that this giant of a musician and a man believed in me wholeheartedly, and that gave me permission to do the same. I will never forget that moment. It‘s also a good reminder on how one can, with just a few well-chosen words, help someone see something a possibility for themself that was previously obscured.
Any fun childhood stories that you’d care to share?
My first of several ER visits throughout my life was when I was five years old, and got knocked down in the street playing football with my older brothers and their friends. After quite a bit of blood and some stitches in the back of my head, I lived on to my next ER visit…
We’ve heard that you like to cook. Any favorite dishes?
I love going to the farmer‘s market and cooking with seasonally available ingredients. Over the last couple of summers I‘ve developed a pretty killer succotash that pairs really well with charred chicken thighs and a good Zweigelt.
Zweigelt is a stand-up red, especially good for Fall. Do you have other favorite warmers?
Rye whiskey and rhum agricole!
What’s in your reading list right now?
War on Peace – Ronan Farrow
Beethoven’s Hair – Russell Martin
The Thirteen American Arguments – Howard Fineman
1776 – David McCullough
Famous Father Girl – Jamie Bernstein
The Other Woman – Daniel Silva
Any tunes playing in your house?
Willie Nelson – Teatro (digital, hope to own it on vinyl someday)
Liszt – Faust Symphony (digital)
Sturgill Simpson – Meta Modern Sounds in Country Music (vinyl)
Liszt – Piano Concert No 1, recording of Andre Watts’ suprise debut with the NY Phil, Bernstein conducting (vinyl)
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (vinyl)
What do you like to do when you’re not on the podium or in the opera pit?
I love fishing and anything else that involves being on water, whether it’s a creek or an ocean. I also enjoy cycling and have recently become a Pilates regular.
Any guilty pleasures?
Ice cream, or cookies. Or both, together. Yes, definitely both together.
What do you think of Mozart in the Jungle?
It‘s cute, and fun to see a lot of colleagues appear on the show. I conduct a lot of opera, so I‘m already pretty adept at the suspension of disbelief, which is important in watching the show from a musician‘s perspective.
What’s something about your home that you’d bring to Winston-Salem?
Although I‘m now a nearly decade long resident of North Carolina and have lived several other places, I would say that being a Kansan is something that will never leave me. I‘m proud to have midwestern sensibilities that help me relate to just about anyone, and also help me remember to keep presumption and pretense to a minimum.
