Ward Stare

Bio

Appointed twelfth music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014, Ward Stare also enjoys an active guest-conducting schedule. In recent seasons he has appeared with the Sydney Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, New World Symphony, and Grant Park Music Festival, as well as making regular appearances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Equally active as an opera conductor, Maestro Stare made his critically acclaimed debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York this season conducting performances of Lehar’s The Merry Widow with Susan Graham in the title role.

Maestro Stare has made multiple guest appearances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in recent seasons as well as with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. A passionate advocate of music education, Ward Stare has been a Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University since 2012. In the fall of 2016 Stare recorded an album with the Center’s students and founder Robert McDuffie as soloist that included Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 3 and the first recording of the Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra by R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills.