Described by The Milwaukee Sentinel as "a thoughtful and sincere musician, with a stylish, poised podium presence," Harvey Felder is currently the Music Director of the Tacoma Symphony. Maestro Felder's tenure there has been marked by a quadrupling of the budget, an expansion of the season from 5 to 19 performances, and a tripling of concert attendance. The Tacoma News Tribune has said of his leadership, ". . . Felder has instilled a high level of ensemble discipline and energized the musicians." Equally at home with repertoire ranging from Bach and Mahler to Gershwin and Ellington, Mr. Felder leads the Tacoma Symphony in a season of subscription, family, education, outreach and pops concerts.

Also active as a guest conductor, Harvey Felder made his Carnegie Hall debut during the 1991 "Carnegie Hall at 100" celebration, leading the American Symphony Orchestra in a series of young people's concerts. These appearances launched a guest conducting career which has included engagements with the National, Omaha, Baltimore, Seattle, American, Delaware, Honolulu, New Jersey, Baton Rouge, Santa Fe, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Madison, Missouri and Grant Park Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Kansas City, Rochester, Dayton, Orange County and Boulder Philharmonics, the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in outreach, education and family concerts, as well as a holiday concert that was nationally televised on PBS. With the Chicago Symphony, Mr. Felder has led family and education concerts, as well as a nationally televised concerto competition concert on PBS. Outside of the U.S. Mr. Felder has appeared with the Osaka Telemann Chamber Orchestra (on two occasions), the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estados de Mexico, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica, and the New Japan Philharmonic. He has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Sarah Chang, Jeffrey Siegel, Jennifer Koh, Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, José Feghali, Nathaniel Rosen, Leon Bates and pops artists Doc Severinsen, Maureen McGovern, the Dallas Brass and Marvin Hamlisch.

In prior positions, Mr. Felder was Assistant Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony, Artistic Advisor to the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Resident Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony and Music Director of the Fox Valley Symphony. He received his B.M. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his M.M. from the University of Michigan, and continued his studies with Gennady Rozdestvensky, Elizabeth Green, David Zinman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Max Rudolf and Zdenek Macal. Well known for his music education programs, Mr. Felder was appointed to an ad hoc commission jointly assembled by the Kennedy and Getty Centers to develop recommendations for the inclusion of an arts curriculum in educational reform legislation. The commission's findings were used by the Secretary of Education in the planning of the "Educate America" program and the congressional act "Improving America's Schools." He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Tacoma's Arts Fund "Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award," a "Citation of Excellence" from the Wisconsin State Assembly, a "Distinguished Citizen Award" from the Wisconsin Civic Music Association and the "Distinguished Alumni Award" from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the Wheeling, Wyoming, and the Quad City Symphonies, and a pops concert with the Boise Philharmonic. This season he appears with the San Antonio Symphony and makes his European debut with the Mikkeli City Orchestra of Finland.