JULY 22, 2011

Michael Sakir has been awarded 3rd Place in the 2011 American Prize in Conducting (Opera Division).  Click here to see all the winners of this year’s competition.

JULY 7, 2011

Michael Sakir will serve as assistant conductor and chorus master for Opera Boston’s production of Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi in April/May 2012.

JUNE 20, 2011

Michael Sakir has been selected as a finalist for the American Prize in Conducting (Opera Division) based on his video of the Boston Opera Collaborative’s recent production of Little Women.

MAY 16, 2011

Michael Sakir has been awarded the Austro-American Association of Boston’s Austrian Studies Scholarship.  This award is designed to foster the appreciation of Austrian culture through a project focusing on a unique work of art, literature, music, etc.  Michael’s project will focus on Eduard Steuermann’s piano trio arrangement of Arnold Schoenberg’s Verkärlte Nacht.  The project will culminate in a lecture recital in April 2012.

APRIL 7, 2011

As his tenure with Pensacola Opera comes to a close this spring, Michael has made plans to return to Florida as assistant conductor and pianist for Sarasota Opera’s Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 seasons.  Repertoire includes Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Bizet’s Carmen, and Verdi’s Otello.

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

Click here to see a newly uploaded video of Michael Sakir and the Boston Opera Collaborative’s recent production of Little Women.

JANUARY 20, 2011

Michael Sakir will return to Des Moines Metro Opera this summer for the company’s 39th Festival Season.  He will serve as associate conductor for Puccini’s La Boheme and Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, as well as coach for the James M. Collier Apprentice Artist Program.

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

Michael Sakir and the Boston Opera Collaborative received glowing reviews from the Boston Theater Review for their production of Mark Adamo’s contemporary opera Little Women. Critic J. Jacob Krause wrote “the musical direction was wonderful.  The orchestra sounded flawless under Sakir’s baton and I could tell his coaching of the singers really paid off.”

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Michael will join Opera Boston Underground, the city’s alternative and intimate opera experience, as music director for Antonio Salieri’s Prima la musica e poi le parole (First the music and then the words).  Performances will be part of the many different events of First Night Boston on December 31, 2010.

AUGUST 2, 2010

As Music Director for Pensacola Opera’s 2011 Artist-in-Residence Program, Michael will conduct Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco for the Artist-in-Residence Showcase this April.

JULY 16, 2010

Michael will serve as Assistant Conductor and Rehearsal Pianist for Pensacola Opera’s 2011 Season.  Mark Adamo’s Little Women will be performed in January and Puccini’s final masterpiece Turandot will take place in March. Additionally, he will serve as Music Director for Pensacola Opera’s Artist-in-Residence Program.

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

Michael Sakir and other members of the Opera Iowa Education Tour were interviewed by the Estherville Daily News.  Click here for an entertaining review of Hansel and Gretel and the education workshop Let’s Make an Opera!

FEBRUARY 1, 2010

This summer, Michael will join the music staff of Des Moines Metro Opera’s 38th Festival Season.  He will serve as associate conductor for Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Verdi’s Macbeth, rehearsal pianist for Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, and apprentice musical coach in the James Collier Apprentice Artist Program.  

SEPTEMBER 19, 2009

The Juventas New Music Ensemble, under the direction of Music Director Michael Sakir, received a glowing review from the Boston Theater Review for its fall concert series Murmurs from Limbo.  Click here to read.

AUGUST 24, 2009

Michael has been engaged as Music Director for Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2010 Opera Iowa Tour.  From early-January through mid-April, he will perform Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, and Patterson’s A Dream Fulfilled: The Saga of George Washington Carver for audiences throughout Iowa along with DMMO Apprentice Artists.  In addition, Michael has also been offered the position of Apprentice Coach for DMMO’s mainstage summer season. 

AUGUST 8, 2009

A new video from the Boston Opera Collaborative’s Carmen is posted. Click here to watch.

JULY 29, 2009

The Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Bizet’s Carmen under the direction of Michael Sakir received rave reviews from the Boston Musical Intelligencer.  Critic Larry Phillips “knew we were in capable musical hands when the overture began under the direction of Michael Sakir” and Mark Kroll praised Michael for his “calm control and nice sense of pacing.”  Click here for complete reviews of performances on July 18 and July 25.

JUNE 21, 2009

Michael has been invited to conduct Steve Reich’s complete set of Hebrew psalm settings Tehillim at The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival.  The performance will occur Saturday, November 14 at 8:00pm in Seully Hall at The Boston Conservatory.

APRIL 28, 2009

Michael has been nominated and initiated into the nationally recognized music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda.

JANUARY 23, 2009

Michael has been selected as a finalist for the 2009-2010 New World Symphony conducting fellowship.

JANUARY 8, 2009

After the huge success of Mozart’s The Magic Flute last summer, Michael will return to the Boston Opera Collaborative to conduct Bizet’s Carmen in Summer 2009.

DECEMBER 12, 2008

Michael has been accepted to participate in the 2009 Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition.  It will take place June 1-12, 2009 in Burgas, Bulgaria with the Bulgarian State Opera Burgas. Visit the competition website for more information.

APRIL 19, 2008

After a highly successful season as Associate Conductor of the Juventas New Music Ensemble, Michael has recently been appointed Music Director of the group.  Check out the Juventas Podcast to hear an interview between Michael and composer Paul Dooley. 

MARCH 11, 2008

This summer, Michael will conduct Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the Boston Opera Collaborative.  Performances will occur July 18-20 and 25-27.

FEBRUARY 15, 2008

Michael has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Young Musicians Foundation 2008 National Conductor Search. 

JANUARY 31, 2008

Michael has been engaged to conduct the Boston College High School’s upcoming production of West Side Story. Eight performances will occur in May at the school’s new Gregory E. Bulger Performing Arts Center. See the performance schedule for more information.