Conductor and Artistic Director

Anthony Spain has been Music Director of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra (NWSO) in Seattle, Washington since 1987. His work with the NWSO has met with national acclaim, having been featured several times on National Public Radio. Melinda Bargreen of the Seattle Times described Dr. Spain and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra performances’ as “…strong, committed impassioned performances. Spain and the NWSO have recorded three CD’s which have been highly praised by sources including the American Record Guide “…sound is beautiful, playing excellent” and Fanfare “... first class orchestra…This is a first class production all around”. Dr. Spain’s innovative programming of local American northwest composers, first came to national attention in 1996 with a mention in a front page Wall Street Journal article regarding up and coming arts groups. He and the NWSO have received seven national ASCAP awards for “Programming of Contemporary Music,” the most recent being a first place national award in June 2007.

Dr. Spain has guest conducted several orchestras and choirs throughout America and in Europe. He has conducted the Orfeo International Orchestra with the choir of L’UNESCO (the cultural branch of the United Nations) in Paris, France as well as the Bath Philharmonic in Bath, England. The Bath Chronicle exclaimed of Dr. Spain “He has a type of charisma, which extends to the far orchestral corners.” Orchestras conducted in the United States include the Albuquerque Philharmonic, Altoona Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Mid Columbia Symphony, Missoula Symphony Orchestra, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Spain is also a regular guest conductor every summer at the Masterworks Festival south of Chicago, which includes gifted students from around the country, and musicians from major orchestras including the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Saint Louis Symphony. In June 2008, he was a cover conductor for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. During a 2004 sabbatical in London and Paris, he assisted John Nelson at the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Dr. Spain has received numerous awards and one Grammy nomination in vocal jazz performance.

Dr. Spain has been complimented on his ability to captivate an audience with insights and anecdotes on composers and pieces alike. Dedicated to education, he works regularly with students throughout the Seattle area, as part of the NWSO’s “Symphony for Students” program. He is an active adjudicator and clinician and has been a guest speaker at conferences including the American Symphony Orchestra League’s National Convention and the Conductor’s Guild National Conference. Spain graduated in 1990 with a Doctorate Degree in Music from the University of Washington and has studied abroad in Paris, France with the noted conductor and teacher Leon Barzin.