David Itkin - Conductor

Conductor

From 1988 to 1993, Itkin served as associate conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, during which time he was made Honorary Lieutenant Governor of the State of Alabama for outstanding service to the arts. He was conductor of the Birmingham Opera Theatre and the Kingsport Symphony from 1992 to 1995, music director for the Lucius Woods Festival Concerts in Solon Springs, Wisconsin from 1993 to 2000, and music director of Chicago's Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2000.

In 1993, Itkin began his 16-year tenure as conductor (and later conductor/music director) of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed music director/conductor of the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005, and music director/conductor of the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007. In the fall of 2008, Itkin became music director and director of orchestral studies for the University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra.

In May 2009, Maestro Itkin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Lyon College

In 2012, Maestro Itkin was involved in a contentious departure from the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra. When he announced that he would not be renewing his contract, which ended in 2013, members of the Board of Directors flew to Dallas to complete a buyout of his remaining contract, effectively keeping him from returning for his final year. Itkin has stated that he believes this conduct unprecedented in the orchestral field.

Itkin has been a guest conductor with more than 40 symphony orchestras, opera and ballet companies worldwide, including the San Diego Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Slovenska Filharmonija, the Seoul Philharmonic, the Shanghai Broadcast Symphony, the Illinois Symphony, the Delaware Symphony, the New Hampshire Symphony, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Annapolis Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestras, the Colorado Symphony, and the Reno Chamber Orchestra.