World-Renowned Maestro Joins UNO School of Music

OMAHA – The College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media at the University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO) is pleased to announced the appointment of Miguel Harth-Bedoya as Director of Orchestral Studies, beginning in August, 2020.

Harth-Bedoya will be charged with expanding and directing the orchestra program in the School of Music at the Strauss Performing Arts Center. His vision includes the creation of a brand new Bachelor of Music program in orchestral conducting, which is currently lacking at the undergraduate level in the United States.

"I am very excited to join the faculty of the UNO School of Music,” Harth-Bedoya states. “The school's faculty are excellent teachers, performers and visionaries, the student body is eager to learn, and the program is led by a strong administration under Dr. Washington A. Garcia, Director of the UNO School of Music, and Dr. Michael L. Hilt, Dean of the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media. The overall community is an inspiration. I am grateful that an institution of higher learning believes in the creation of a new undergraduate conducting program, which I know will be of great impact in the U.S."

With a metropolitan mission of community engagement, UNO School of Music students are highly involved in performance and education throughout the Omaha community. Students at UNO have performed with the Omaha Symphony, Opera Omaha, Omaha Performing Arts, Omaha Community Playhouse and a variety of arts venues throughout the city. Its international touring program has linked to the global community with students visiting Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, and Mexico, among others. Based in a student-centered curriculum, it currently offers comprehensive undergraduate programs in music education, music performance, music technology and music entrepreneurship.

"Attracting a maestro such as Miguel Harth-Bedoya to the UNO campus is just the latest example of the stature of the university, the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, and specifically the School of Music.” Hilt states. “Under Dr. Washington Garcia's leadership, our Music program has reached unprecedented heights. The hiring of Maestro Harth-Bedoya will continue that trajectory."

“It is a privilege to welcome maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya into our musical family at UNO and the community in Omaha,” Garcia states. “Miguel’s professional trajectory is nothing short of exceptional and he joins our School at a time of unprecedented success as we continue to establish ourselves as leaders in our community, the country and the world. Miguel brings a vision of excellence that is in line with the University’s goals of student-centeredness, academic excellence, community engagement, and institutional quality. A new amazing era is about to start in the Orchestral Studies program at UNO.”

Celebrating more than 30 years of professional conducting, Miguel Harth-Bedoya is finishing tenures as Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

In the US, Harth-Bedoya regularly conducts Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras. Worldwide he has relationships with Helsinki Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, National Orchestra of Spain, BBC Scottish Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. Other appearances include National Orchestra of Lyon (France), Brisbane Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, and Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra.

Equally at home in opera, Harth-Bedoya conducted the world premiere performances of Jennifer Higdon’s first opera Cold Mountain at Santa Fe. He has led Golijov’s Ainadamar with the Cincinnati Opera and at the New Zealand Festival, as well as other productions with the English National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Minnesota Opera. 

Harth-Bedoya prioritizes teaching, including conducting workshops at Le Domaine Forget and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Additionally, he has created the Summer Orchestral Conducting Institute (SOCI), with the mission of inspiring talented musicians of all levels to explore the art and craft of orchestral conducting.

He is also the founder and Artistic Director of Caminos Del Inka, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching, performing and preserving the rich musical legacy of South America.

Harth-Bedoya has an impressive discography of more than 25 recordings, including critically-acclaimed albums on Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, FWSOLive, LAWO, Naxos, and MSR Classics.

Born and raised in Peru, Harth-Bedoya received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, both under the guidance of Otto-Werner Mueller.