BIOGRAPHY
Since 2020, Michael Sakir has served as as Artistic Director of Opera Montana (formerly Intermountain Opera Bozeman), where his leadership has transformed the company into a thriving, mission-driven organization recognized for innovation, community impact, and financial growth. Sakir has advanced signature education and civic programs including Wheels of Harmony, which brings Native American artists into rural and Tribal schools, and the Opera Montana Veterans Chorus, which provides community and camaraderie for military service members. He has strengthened fundraising through Opera Montana’s first capital campaign, major donor cultivation, and expanding revenue streams by aligning fundraising with mission-driven programming.
Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis with whom, in addition to conducting nearly two dozen productions, he was deeply involved in the company's groundbreaking civic practice programs, commissioning projects, and the creation of the Handorf Company Artist Program.
As a conductor, Michael Sakir has been praised for his "artistic authority," "fluidity of expression," and "great delicacy of feeling." Recent conducting engagements include Seattle Opera and Arizona Opera (The Falling and the Rising), Des Moines Metro Opera (Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei, and Laura Kaminsky’s As One), Opera Baltimore (The Turn of the Screw), Opera Idaho (Carmen), and the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center (Madama Butterfly, Candide, Susannah, Die Fledermaus).
Additional engagements include Opera Company of Middlebury (The Maid of Orleans, Il trittico, Cendrillon, Candide, A Streetcar Named Desire), Opera Orlando (Don Pasquale, The Impresario, Les mamelles de Tirésias), Shreveport Opera (The Magic Flute), Eugene Opera (The Turn of the Screw), Northwestern University (Dead Man Walking), American Opera Projects (As One), Temple University (Le nozze di Figaro), Opera in the Ozarks (La Cenerentola), and Opera North (NH) (The Tender Land).
Earlier in his career, Sakir held chorus master, assistant conductor, and coach positions for nearly three dozen productions with Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Opera Boston.
Sakir holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory, as well as a certificate in Nonprofit Financial Management from Cornell University. He was a participant in OPERA America’s 2017 Leadership Intensive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Teri, a leadership coach and change management consultant at Deloitte, and their four-year-old son, William.
Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis with whom, in addition to conducting nearly two dozen productions, he was deeply involved in the company's groundbreaking civic practice programs, commissioning projects, and the creation of the Handorf Company Artist Program.
As a conductor, Michael Sakir has been praised for his "artistic authority," "fluidity of expression," and "great delicacy of feeling." Recent conducting engagements include Seattle Opera and Arizona Opera (The Falling and the Rising), Des Moines Metro Opera (Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei, and Laura Kaminsky’s As One), Opera Baltimore (The Turn of the Screw), Opera Idaho (Carmen), and the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center (Madama Butterfly, Candide, Susannah, Die Fledermaus).
Additional engagements include Opera Company of Middlebury (The Maid of Orleans, Il trittico, Cendrillon, Candide, A Streetcar Named Desire), Opera Orlando (Don Pasquale, The Impresario, Les mamelles de Tirésias), Shreveport Opera (The Magic Flute), Eugene Opera (The Turn of the Screw), Northwestern University (Dead Man Walking), American Opera Projects (As One), Temple University (Le nozze di Figaro), Opera in the Ozarks (La Cenerentola), and Opera North (NH) (The Tender Land).
Earlier in his career, Sakir held chorus master, assistant conductor, and coach positions for nearly three dozen productions with Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Opera Boston.
Sakir holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory, as well as a certificate in Nonprofit Financial Management from Cornell University. He was a participant in OPERA America’s 2017 Leadership Intensive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Teri, a leadership coach and change management consultant at Deloitte, and their four-year-old son, William.