Biography
William Intriligator currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra in Wyoming. He is an experienced orchestra leader whose musicianship, leadership, personality, and passion have enabled both organizations to reach new audiences, attain new artistic heights, diversify programming, and achieve unprecedented success.
Intriligator’s 2023-2024 concert season at both orchestras includes carefully curated subscription programs that blend traditional concert favorites with works by women and other under-represented composers. During his tenure with the both orchestras, Intriligator has also presented many special programs and productions including staged operas and musicals, staged ballet productions, film with live orchestra, and performances with regional bands
Other Special projects from past seasons with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra include composer festivals (Mozart, Shostakovich, Beethoven), a multi-cultural festival, “Voices” concerts in the Millwork District in partnership with artists, performing as oboe soloist with the orchestra, concerts with world-renowned violinist Midori as part of the Midori Residency Program, and accompanying musical prodigy Ethan Bortnick in a concert that became a popular PBS television special, “The Power of Music.”
Intriligator feels very strongly that one of the roles of a regional orchestra is to promote local and regional composers and performers. His orchestras have commissioned and premiered over 30 new works by such composers, as well as featured many local and regional performers as soloists.
As a guest conductor, Intriligator has led performances with many distinguished orchestras across the country, including those of Honolulu, Houston, Minnesota, Richmond, Saint Paul, Savannah, Syracuse, and Tulsa. In 2017, he made his European conducting debut in Italy with the Bari Symphony Orchestra. After the success of that concert, the orchestra immediately invited him to return to Bari and conduct two more concerts.
Also an eager opera conductor, he has led productions of works by Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, and Puccini, and he was previously Assistant Conductor of the Minnesota Opera.
Intriligator previously served as Staff Conductor at the Minnesota Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Southwest German Radio Orchestra. He was a regular guest conductor of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for five seasons while living in the Twin Cities, conducting the SPCO in educational concerts, family concerts, regional tours, and concerts of new music.
Originally from Santa Monica, California, Intriligator earned many accolades as an oboist before turning to conducting. He graduated with highest honors in music from Princeton University. He then studied conducting in France with Charles Bruck and in Germany and Austria with Michael Gielen. He earned his masters and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting at the University of Minnesota. Intriligator was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival for two summers and attended the Pierre Monteux School for four summers. He was also a protégée of Christian Thielemann in Germany, Italy, and the U.S.
In 2013, Intriligator won the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society's Elisha Darlin Award in recognition of his impact on the cultural landscape of Dubuque and the Tri-State region. In 2014, Intriligator and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra received the Dubuque365 Impact Award in Music, recognizing the many ways he and the orchestra reach out to the community.