Jamie Reeves
Music Director and Conductor
Montgomery Symphony Orchestra
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About
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Jamie Reeves began his tenure as Music Director and Conductor of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in the 2021-2022 season. Since then, he has led the orchestra through a period of remarkable artistic growth, captivating audiences with dynamic performances and innovative programming. In addition to his role with the MSO, Jamie continues to serve as a cover conductor with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has upcoming guest conducting engagements including a special presentation of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl with the Omaha Symphony.
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Jamie is fostering a thriving symphonic culture in Montgomery by engaging world-class soloists, commissioning new works, and celebrating contemporary American music alongside the standard symphonic canon. In the 2024-2025 season, he will launch 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. The MSO will present the world premiere of the inaugural commission, Wallpaper Ascot, by Decatur, AL native J.R. Speake.
Photo Credit: Brittany Lesavoy Smith
This season, Jamie will collaborate with celebrated guest artists, including Geneva Lewis, Stephen Clark, and pianist Jeffrey Biegel for the Alabama premiere of Peter Boyer’s Rhapsody in Red, White, and Blue in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. 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 Jurassic Park, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Home Alone. He also leads the MSO in the annual Joyce Caldwell Holiday Pops this season featuring America’s Got Talent alumnus Jimmie Herrod. Jamie’s dedication to inspiring young audiences shines through in the annual performances of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute's Link Up series, which is set to reach a record number of students across Montgomery and central Alabama.
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 in the final rounds of the Gregorz Fitelberg and Besançon conducting competitions, where he led the Filharmonia ÅšlÄ…ska 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.
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An advocate for music education, Jamie frequently works with students throughout the United States, conducting orchestra festivals in Maine, Maryland, Alabama. Prior to joining the MSO, Jamie served as interim Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Alabama, where he conducted Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin, a production which earned a prestigious award from the National Opera Association. Jamie holds degrees in conducting from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music and the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Conservatory, where he had the privilege of being mentored by esteemed conductors such as Marin Alsop, David Effron, Arthur Fagen, John Ratledge, and Joseph Young.
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