Andrew Sewell, Guest Conductor
Andrew Sewell conducts the Thursday, August 11 concert in his first appearance with the Peninsula Music Festival.
Music Director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Wichita Symphony since 2000, Andrew Sewell was named as Musician of the Year in 2005 by the Wisconsin State Journal, and Best Individual Artist in the Wichita Arts Council 2005 Art Awards. With the release of two award winning CDs, Close to the Music and Momentum, he has “improved the quality of the chamber orchestra in every aspect” (Wisconsin State Journal). In March 2008, the WCO released a third CD entitled Mozart - the Early Concerti with Adam Neiman under the international VAI label.
In addition to his two directorships Maestro Sewell is in demand as a guest conductor having led major orchestras in North America including the Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee, Columbus, Monterey and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras, as well as abroad with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony of Mexico, Kyushu Symphony (Japan), Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony, and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Since 2003, he has been a guest conductor for the summer Masterworks Festivals held in Winona Lake, Indiana and in Winchester, England.
A native of New Zealand, Maestro Sewell received his music training on the violin, piano and cornet, and began conducting at age 16. Six years later, he made his professional opera debut with the Mercury Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He was then awarded the Australian Guarantee Corporation’s Young Achiever’s Award allowing him to further his studies abroad. Sewell holds a Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan. His previous appointments include Music Director and Conductor of the Mansfield Symphony (Ohio), Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony.
New Zealand honored Sewell in 1997 as the first recipient of the Aotea Performing Arts Trust’s “Star” Award, for which he spent time conducting in Finland and England. Between his duties in Wichita, Maestro Sewell resides in Madison with his wife Mary, their three children Anna, Lydia and Alistair, and their British labrador, Lexie.
To view and hear Andrew Sewell's comments on the August 11 concert, click here.
To view and hear Andrew Sewell's reflections on his life in music, select a tab below. There are two parts and part 2 is available in standard and high quality:
- Part 1
Std Qual - Part 2
Std Qual - Part 2
High Qual