Twenty-four-year-old conductor Michael Sakir is becoming increasingly recognized as an exciting and versatile musician. He has conducted opera and musical theater productions with the Boston Opera Collaborative, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Conservatory Opera Studio, Boston College High School, and French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. In Summer 2009, Michael will return to the Boston Opera Collaborative to conduct Bizet's Carmen.

A passionate advocate for new music, Michael was recently appointed Music Director of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, a Boston-based ensemble dedicated to performing works by composers under 35, after having served as the group's Associate Conductor since June 2007. Previous positions include Founder and Music Director of the Gotham Contemporary Ensemble, Apprentice Conductor of the New York Youth Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra.

In the summers of 2004 and 2005, Michael studied at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine. He has also participated in workshops with such distinguished conductors as Larry Rachleff, Otto-Werner Mueller, and Victor Yampolsky.

Equally active as a collaborative pianist, Michael serves as a vocal coach and accompanist for The Boston Conservatory Opera and Vocal Departments. He also works extensively with the Boston Opera Collaborative and Brookline Chorus.

A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Michael received Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Music History in June 2006. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting at The Boston Conservatory under the tutelage of Maestro Bruce Hangen. Michael is a native of Northern California.