Meet our
Music Director and Conductor,
Wesley Schulz
Wesley Schulz is widely recognized for his superb programming and spirited yet heartfelt music making with orchestras. At home with masterworks, contemporary music as well as pops, the Cultural Voice of North Carolina deems Schulz’s conducting “spectacular.” Schulz is Music Director and Conductor of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra (WA) and recently completed four successful seasons as the Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony. Prior to this, Schulz was a Conducting Fellow at the Seattle Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra and Education and Family Conductor for the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
At the core of Schulz’s artistry is the desire to unite people through thought-provoking performances such as when he won the American Prize for a singular performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring that gathered together orchestral musicians, pianists, dancers, and academics. Programs conducted by Schulz frequently include voices of our time. He has commissioned composers such as Tania León, Jennifer Higdon and Christopher Theofanidis as well as featured the works of composers such as Adam Schoenberg, Caroline Shaw, Huang Ruo, Anna Clyne, John Adams and Chris Rogerson. As a community builder, Schulz frequently brings together artists, philanthropists, business entities and political leaders in support of the Arts.
Across four seasons as Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, Schulz conducted over 200 performances in all genres including Masterworks, Pops, Friday Favorites, Holiday, Family and Education concerts. Schulz made his Masterworks debut, with hours’ notice, conducting Bernstein’s Serenade, with superstar violinist Philippe Quint, as well as Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. One reviewer wrote, "The North Carolina Symphony and Schulz definitely drew the utmost life out of Schubert." Schulz has collaborated with Leslie Odom Jr., Pink Martini, Cirque de la Symphonie, Broadway By Request and Michael Cavanaugh. Every season Schulz conducted the orchestra’s Opening State Tour as well as Opening Night at SummerFest, the orchestra’s summer home at Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, North Carolina.
As Music Director of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, one of the Pacific Northwest’s finest regional orchestras, Schulz is committed to deepening the relationship between the symphony and the community. Recent projects include visual art projects with local elementary schools, a micro-grant program for musicians and artists, Carnegie Hall’s Link Up, collaborations with visual artist Adrian Wyard, multiple commissioning projects and the presentation of Sphinx Competition winner, Randall Goosby. The orchestra has recently expanded its offerings to include more diverse concert presentations as well as performances at local parks, breweries and community spaces.
From 2014-2015 Schulz served as Conducting Fellow of the Seattle Symphony. He made his Benaroya Hall debut with the orchestra in a sold-out performance with singer and songwriter Gregory Allan Isakov. Schulz has received multiple invitations to return to the podium of the Seattle Symphony conducting a collaborative concert with singer and songwriter Amos Lee and to prepare the orchestra for the Oscar winning conductor and composer, John Williams. Additionally, Schulz has been a regular guest conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra developing and conducting family and educational performances that reach over 15,000 young people annually. Schulz is the former Music Director of Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra, Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra, Everett Youth Symphony Orchestras and Seattle Festival Orchestra.
Schulz graduated magna cum laude with Bachelor degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Education from Ball State University and Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin. When not on the podium, Schulz can be seen distance running, doing CrossFit, cooking and playing endless fetch with his two dogs, Chewbacca and Han Solo.
Assistant Conductor,
Zane Kistner
Zane Kistner, originally from Salem, Oregon, earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. While at Puget Sound, he studied euphonium and conducting. During his time in Tacoma, Zane performed as a soloist and substitute musician, most notably as a featured soloist on Seattle’s King FM Classical radio station. Zane also won the 2017 Northwest Brass Festival Solo Competition, which gave him the opportunity to perform and record with Brass Band Northwest. As an educator, Zane worked as the assistant conductor of the Puget Sound Youth Wind Ensemble and the Puget Sound University Concert Winds. Recently, Zane completed his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting under Dr. Jonathan Girard at the University of British Columbia. At UBC, Zane has worked as the assistant conductor for both the UBC Symphony Orchestra, and the UBC Chamber Orchestra Festival and participated in the Cascade Conducting Masterclass and masterclasses presented by Neil Varon, Gerard Schwarz, and Sarah Ioannides. Zane’s most recent performances have been with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.