This concert is Sameer Patel's first appearance at Summerfest. His Symphony debut was in February, when he led a program of music for strings in Raleigh, followed by concerts in Southern Pines and Wilmington.

    Sameer Patel is the newly appointed Artistic Director of the San Diego Youth Symphony, a transformational organization that reaches more than 3,000 students in its community through its 13 ensembles, El Sistema-inspired classroom programs, and early childhood music classes. He also serves as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and recently concluded an acclaimed tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony.
    In the 2021/22 season, debuts included the Grand Rapids Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Florida Orchestra; Patel also had return engagements with the Knoxville Symphony and La Jolla Symphony. Recent performances include concerts with the symphony orchestras of Toronto, St. Louis, and Detroit, New Jersey Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony, and Sacramento Philharmonic. He has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Abroad, he has conducted performances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and the Leipziger Sinfonieorchester.
    As the proud product of public school music education, Patel allocates time each season to work with school and community ensembles, youth orchestras, youth music camps, and All-State orchestras around the country.
    The Solti Foundation U.S. granted Patel three consecutive Career Assistance Awards and an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with North Carolina Opera. In 2013, Kurt Masur, the late Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, recognized him 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, which led to subsequent, multiple engagements with that orchestra. In the early stages of his career, he held conducting positions with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
    Born and raised in Michigan, Patel studied at the University of Michigan. He now makes his home in San Diego with his family.