Maestro Andrew Kurtz's conducting has been called “passionate, expansive, expert, and musical.” Kurtz’s repertoire encompasses a wide range of music styles from baroque to contemporary, and multiple genres including opera, symphonic, ballet, musical theater, jazz, cantorial, and symphonic pops. Since 1995 Kurtz has been Music Director and Conductor of the Gulf Coast Symphony (FL), one of the most innovative orchestras in the US. He served five years as Music Director of the Florida Jewish Philharmonic Orchestra. Kurtz was the international tour conductor for CANTORS: A Faith In Song and is now the tour conductor for NEW YORK CANTORS, a PBS special. He was General Director of the Center City Opera Theater of Philadelphia for 17 years. There he has led over four dozen productions including multiple world and regional premieres. He was Producing Artistic Director of Synergy Productions, a professional musical theater company in Southwest Florida. Kurtz was President of the Board of the Lee County Alliance for the Arts. An avid arts educator, Maestro Kurtz was Resident Music Director of the Jr. Session at the Luzerne Music Center, where he led the student orchestras and taught conducting. He was named the 2007 Performing Artist of the Year at Lee County’s Angel of the Arts Awards. In 1995 Kurtz made his international operatic conducting debut in Tel Aviv while working as staff conductor at the Israel Vocal Arts Institute and European conducting premiere in Italy in 2001. Highlights of the various conducting posts include the Metropolitan Opera Guild, The Pennsylvania Opera Theater, The Pennsylvania Ballet and the Ocean City Pops. Kurtz completed his Doctoral studies in conducting at the Peabody Conservatory and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia where he received his Master's degree in Music History and a Bachelor of Arts in music and drama. Specialties: entrepenuer. symphony. opera. cantorial. symphonic pops. arts admin.