JOHN W. STRICKLER,
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

The 2005-2006 Season is the 7th for John Strickler as Music Director of the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra.  Since his appointment in 1999, the Symphony has achieved a high level of excellence and distinction, and the press has called his performances "inspired' and superb."  Dr. Strickler is spoken of as a "true master of programming," putting forth performances that contain a "judicious balance of the familiar and the progressive."

A native of Wisconsin, Dr. Strickler received his Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin, and his Master of Music in Conducting and Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Southern California.  His teachers include Daniel Lewis, H. Robert Reynolds, Jon Robertson, Herbert Blomstedt, Jorge Mester, and Joseph Gifford.

In addition to his position with the GCSO, Strickler is also Music Director of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in Kansas, a position he has held for 15 seasons.  Prior to that appointment, he held various positions with orchestras in California including the Long Beach Community Orchestra, Coterie Symphonique, San Gabriel Valley Junior Symphony, and the USC Symphony and Community Orchestras.  He has guest conducted in Mississippi, Wisconsin, Kansas, California, and Alaska, and recently returned from Romania where he conducted three highly successful concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Ploieste, Bacau, and Brasov. This season sees him conducting in Prague and Vienna.

Dr. Strickler has served on the faculties of universities in Wisconsin, California and Kansas and in 1998 was a recipient of the Kansas Governor's Arts Award.