ANDREW KING, is the Music Director of the Purdue University Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras. He also serves as Music Director of the Bradley Symphony Orchestra in Peoria, Illinois, and as the Assistant Conductor of the Lafayette Symphony. His orchestras have performed on at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Kapella Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and on tour in Cracow, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest.

A dedicated advocate for music education, Mr. King formerly served as the orchestra division head for Bands of America (now Music for All) and was instrumental in the creation of Orchestra America, the National Honor Orchestra, and the National Orchestra Festival. Mr. King conducts dozens of clinics annually with high school bands and orchestras throughout the Midwest, and creates an annual partnership between the orchestras at Purdue and an Indiana high school orchestra.

In addition to his work at Purdue, Mr. King has been a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States. Last year, Mr. King’s guest conducting appearances included the NEMFA All-New England Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, the orchestras at Oklahoma State University and the University of Indianapolis, as well as ASTA All-Region orchestras and high school honor bands and orchestras. He recently served as a clinician for Festivals at Sea in San Diego, CA and Ensenada, Mexico. In the summers, Mr. King is a frequent guest at music camps. He has conducted the orchestras at camps at the University of Wyoming, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Bands of America Summer Symposium, and Great Lakes Music Camp.

Committed to promoting contemporary art music, Mr. King regularly works with living composers and programs new works. He has commissioned and premiered works by Michael Schelle, Frank Felice, Peter Gilbert, and Joseph Spaniola, and hosts a guest composer on campus at Purdue annually.

Mr. King previously held positions as Director of Orchestras at Carmel High School and Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, and as Music Director of the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra. The January 2001 issue of School Band and Orchestra Magazine focused on the Carmel High School Orchestra in its cover story titled “Andrew King: Orchestrating Student Success.”

Mr. King earned his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Butler University where he studied with Stanley DeRusha. His conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier, Daniel Hege, Rossen Milanov, and Steven Eggleston. He has also participated as a conducting fellow in International Conductor’s Guild workshops with Leonard Slatkin, Harold Farberman, Guillermo Figeroa, and H. Robert Reynolds. Mr. King earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Illinois Wesleyan University where he graduated with honors. Also active as a horn performer, he currently performs with the Windy City Brass Quintet in Chicago and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Indianapolis.

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