Jamie Reeves

Music Director and Conductor
Montgomery Symphony Orchestra

About

Jamie Reeves is the Music Director and Conductor of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, a role he began in the 2021-2022 season. Under his leadership, the MSO has experienced significant artistic growth, delivering dynamic performances and innovative programming. In addition to his work with the MSO, Jamie has recent and upcoming debuts with the Chattanooga Symphony, the New Mexico Philharmonic, and the Omaha Symphony, and has served as a cover conductor with the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Dedicated to fostering a vibrant symphonic culture in Montgomery, Jamie engages world-class soloists, celebrates contemporary American music, and commissions new works deeply rooted in the central Alabama community. In the 2024-2025 season, Jamie launched the Alabama Composers Project, a multi-season initiative aimed at commissioning one new work per season by composers from Alabama or whose works are influenced by Alabama’s history and culture.

Photo Credit: Brittany Lesavoy Smith

In February 2025, Jamie appointed Nkeiru Okoye as the inaugural William Levi Dawson Composer-in-Residence. This collaboration involves a series of projects culminating in the February 2026 world premiere of A Time for Jubilee, a choral-orchestral work commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery March. In November of 2025, Jamie leads the MSO in a program dedicated to the symphonic works of Tobias Picker, including the U.S. Premiere of Picker’s Cello Concerto with cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia. In recent seasons, Jamie has collaborated with esteemed soloists including Jeffrey Biegel, Geneva Lewis, Laquita Mitchell, Evren Ozel, and Natasha Paremski.

Jamie’s commitment to enriching Montgomery's musical landscape is also evident in the orchestra's engaging pops series, featuring exhilarating film-in-concert performances such as Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars: A New Hope. He also leads the MSO in the annual Joyce Caddell Holiday Pops, which recently featured America’s Got Talent alumnus Jimmie Herrod. Jamie dedicates himslef to inspiring young audiences through in the annual performances of Carnegie Hall’s Link Up series, and the MSO’s early childhood program, Symphonic Storytime.

In previous seasons, Jamie has refined his craft through participation in prestigious international conducting masterclasses and competitions. He has trained at the Lucerne Festival Masterclass with Bernard Haitink, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Cristian Măcelaru, and masterclasses with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. He has been recognized as a finalist in the Gregorz Fitelberg and Besançon conducting competitions, where he led the Filharmonia Śląska and L’Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté. Jamie has been honored with awards such as the Artistic Excellence Fellowship from Indiana University, the Peabody Career Development Grant from Johns Hopkins University, and the Thelma A. Robinson Award from the International Conductors Guild and the National Federation of Music Clubs. He holds degrees in conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Conservatory, having studied under esteemed conductors including Marin Alsop, David Effron, Arthur Fagen, and John Ratledge, and Joseph Young.