About Sameer
Named Musical America's April 2023 New Artist of the Month and recognized for his "profound artistry" (The San Diego Union Tribune), Sameer Patel is one of America's most exciting conductors. Patel was recently appointed the Music Director and Orchestra Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus and is also Artistic Director of the San Diego Youth Symphony. Formerly, he served as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, and held conducting positions with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Patel has assisted and learned from some of the greatest conductors of our time – Gianandrea Noseda, Daniele Gatti, Gustavo Dudamel, Jaap van Zweden, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi, Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink, Edo de Waart, Robert Spano, and Stéphane Denève – and is dedicated to fostering the next generation of passionate musicians. Patel’s impressive work has led to recognition by the Solti Foundation U.S., which granted him three consecutive Career Assistance Awards and an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with North Carolina Opera; Daniele Gatti, acknowledging Patel as a top conductor at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy; Kurt Masur, the late Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, with a prize from the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation; and the League of American Orchestras. Born and raised in Michigan, Patel makes his home in San Diego with his wife, Shannon, and two children, Devan and Veda.
