Gary Sheldon returns as music director and principal conductor of Miami City Ballet, now in his 12^th season. He has also held conducting positions with Atlanta Ballet, BalletMet and San Francisco Ballet. In 2010, Sheldon was the first recipient of the American Prize for Orchestral Conducting. Other prestigious awards he has received have included the Stokowski and Rupert conducting competitions and in 1996, he received the Bill Graham Memorial Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts in recognition of his dedication to education and outreach as music director of the Marin Symphony in California. Sheldon’s own ballet compositions – Cole, based on the music of Cole Porter, and Butterfly, based on the music of Puccini – commissions by BalletMet, have been widely performed.