These concerts are Sameer Patel's debut with the North Carolina Symphony.

     Sameer Patel serves as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and recently concluded his tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony. This season, he debuts with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Florida Orchestra, as well as return engagements with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and La Jolla Symphony. Recent performances include concerts with the symphony orchestras of Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, and Alabama, as well as the symphonies of New Jersey and Phoenix, the Sacramento Philharmonic, and Symphony New Hampshire. Among others, he has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Abroad, he has conducted ensembles including the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and the Leipziger Symfonieorchester.
     The Solti Foundation U.S. granted Patel three consecutive Career Assistance Awards and an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with North Carolina Opera. In 2016 he was recognized by Daniele Gatti as a top conductor at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, which led to a debut with the Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo. In 2013, Kurt Masur, the late Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, recognized his talents with a prize from the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation. That same year, he was selected by the League of American Orchestras for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Florida. In the early stages of his career, he held conducting positions with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
     As the proud product of public-school music education, Patel dedicates time in his schedule each season to working with youth orchestras and All-State orchestras around the country. Born and raised in Michigan, he studied at the University of Michigan and makes his home in San Diego with his wife, Shannon, their four-year-old son, Devan, and their one-year-old daughter, Veda.