German conductor Dirk Meyer was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Sarasota Orchestra in 2006, and has quickly earned an outstanding reputation with musicians, audiences and critics, alike. He also serves as Music Director of the Sarasota Youth Orchestras, whose first season under his baton culminated in a Carnegie Hall performance in New York City.

Dirk Meyer’s previous American appointments were as Assistant Conductor of the Missouri and Traverse symphony orchestras and Music Director of Michigan’s Mason Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted the orchestras of Jackson and Michigan State University, while abroad he has led performances in the Czech Republic with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and in South Africa with the Odeion Sinfonia. Mr. Meyer has also led productions of Bizet’s Carmen and Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Bulgaria’s Plovdiv Opera.

Possessing a passionate interest in the music of our own time, Dirk Meyer founded the Art Nouveau Chamber Orchestra. Originally established in 2003 to promote the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, the orchestra has subsequently commissioned and premiered several new compositions. Additionally, Mr. Meyer has compiled A Catalogue of 20th Century Chamber Orchestra Repertoire that is pending publication.

Dirk Meyer earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master’s degrees in orchestral conducting from Michigan State University, where he served as Assistant Conductor of the MSU Opera Theatre, leading its productions of Puccini’s La Bohème and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. He also holds Bachelor’s degrees in both music and philosophy from Germany’s Folkwang Conservatory. Mr. Meyer undertook advanced study with Neeme Järvi, Jorma Panula and Kurt Redel. Working with the American conductor Kevin Rhodes, he assisted with numerous performances at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, as well as at the Vienna State Opera and Spain’s Teatro Real in Madrid.