Russell Vinick, Music Director

2010 and 2015 Orchestra "Conductor of the Year" 
Awarded by Illinois Council Of Orchestras

Russ_SM.jpg

Russell Vinick serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and as a music faculty member at Columbia College of Chicago.  Vinick is also the Cover Conductor with the Joffrey Ballet and has conducted performances with them and the Chicago Philharmonic of The Nutcracker at the Auditorium Theatre.  This season, he will again conduct numerous performances.  As Music Director and Conductor of the LSSO, Vinick was awarded the 2010 “Conductor of the Year” Award, 2011 “Programming of the Year” Award, and 2012 “Orchestra of the Year” Award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

Vinick has been a guest conductor in concerts with the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Shandong Symphony Orchestra (China), Kunming Symphony Orchestra (China), Virginia Symphony, Missouri Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Manchester (CT) Symphony Orchestra, University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, Northeastern Illinois University faculty members for the Henry Cowell Music Festival, and for the opera, Hansel and Gretel, with the Petite Opera.  He was the conductor for the world premiere recording of Martin Blazewicz’s Concerto Rustico for Marimba and String Orchestra that was released commercially. The Percussive Notes magazine review of this recording states that, “the balance between soloist and ensemble is remarkable.”

Vinick was one of seven people internationally selected to participate in the conducting program at the Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California studying under Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier.  He has served as Assistant Conductor at the Pacific Music Festival (founded by Leonard Bernstein) in Sapporo, Japan, under Christoph Eschenbach and Michael Tilson Thomas.  He has also been a participant in the conducting program at the Aspen Music Festival.  He has served as Assistant Conductor for the Knoxville (TN) Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and Interim Music Director for the Kingsport (TN) Symphony Orchestra.

Vinick earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Connecticut where he received the Lottie Green Conducting Scholarship and studied with Peter Bagley, Gary Green, and Paul C. Phillips.  He earned a master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles under Daniel Lewis where he received the Conducting Departmental Award and music scholarships.  Vinick has also been a student of Kirk Trevor, Cliff Colnot, and Eiji Oue.