About Russell Vinick

Russell Vinick serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra (Chicago), and adjunct music faculty member at Columbia College of Chicago.

As Music Director and Conductor of the LSSO, Vinick was awarded by the Illinois Council of Orchestras the 2010 and 2015 “Conductor of the Year” Award, 2011 and 2018 “Programming of the Year” Award, and 2012 “Orchestra of the Year” Award.

Vinick served as the Cover Conductor for the Joffrey Ballet with whom he conducted numerous performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet and Prokofiev’s Cinderella with the Chicago Philharmonic at the Auditorium Theater in downtown Chicago. Vinick was the Assistant Conductor for the Knoxville (TN) Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He was one of seven people internationally selected to participate in the conducting program at the Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California studying under Marin Alsop and Gustav Meier. He has served as Assistant Conductor at the Pacific Music Festival (founded by Leonard Bernstein) in Sapporo, Japan, under Neeme Jarvi, Christoph Eschenbach, and Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also been in the conducting programs at the Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival.

Vinick has been a guest conductor in concerts with the Chicago Philharmonic, Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Shandong Symphony Orchestra (China), Kunming Symphony Orchestra (China), Virginia Symphony, Missouri Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Marquette (MI) Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Manchester (CT) Symphony Orchestra, University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, Northeastern Illinois University faculty members for the Henry Cowell Music Festival, Petite Opera in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Opera West in Puccini’s Suor Angelica.

Vinick’s world premiere recording of the Martin Blazewicz Concerto Rustico for Marimba and String Orchestra was praised by Percussive Notes magazine which stated that, “the balance between soloist and ensemble is remarkable.”

Vinick earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music from the University of Connecticut, where he received the Lottie Green Conducting Scholarship. He earned a Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles studying under Daniel Lewis where he received music scholarships and the Conducting Departmental Award. Vinick has also studied with Kirk Trevor, Cliff Colnot, and Eiji Oue.