Michel Singher has conducted symphonic and operatic repertoire abroad and in his adopted United States for some 40 years. Born in Paris to a family of eminent musicians on both his father’s and his mother’s sides, he grew up in and around New York, then earned a bachelor’s magna cum laude from Harvard in History and Literature. He had accompanied recitals of his father, famed baritone Martial Singher, since high school, and after college rounded off his education in music at the Stuttgart Hochschule and Indiana University (M. M.-conducting). His “post-graduate” training consisted of four years as a coach/assistant conductor at the Hamburg State Opera, which led organically to seven years as First Conductor in German, Dutch and Belgian regional theaters. After returning home, Maestro Singher was a professor at the University of Washington and the Oberlin Conservatory, in charge of opera and orchestras at both institutions. Since then, he has conducted for the principal opera companies in Anchorage, Buffalo, Denver, Grand Rapids, Logan, Phoenix/Tucson, San José and Tallahassee, as well as for San Francisco Opera. He was excited to discover Montana while leading the Spokane Symphony on a 13-concert tour in 1984. Currently, Michel Singher lives outside Santa Cruz, CA, and directs the opera program at San José State University.