Dean Buck
Award-winning Conductor Dean Buck has been described by Cleveland Classical as “fearless and firm,” and “precise and confident.” In September 2023, Dean was awarded Second Prize (First Prize was not awarded) at the 2nd International Italian Conducting Competition – Alceo Galliera in Bordighera, Italy. He is excited to be working with the Cleveland Philharmonic orchestra in the upcoming 2025 season.
Dean serves as opera conductor at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. In 2021, he was co-music director for Operas [In Place]: a series of virtual operas that won Opera America’s Award for Digital Excellence in Opera. For this, Buck collaborated with composers Jake Heggie, Nkeiru Okoye, Josh Schmidt, and Griffin Candey, as well as librettists Gene Scheer, Royce Vavrek, David Cote, and Caroline McGraw to premiere works specifically written for virtual performance. He also was Music Director for Nkeiru Okoye’s We’ve Got Our Eye On You which won First Prize at the 2023 National Opera Association Competition. He additionally is on the conducting faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and previously served on the faculty of the University of Akron. Since 2017, Dean has been Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master of Cleveland Opera Theater, where he is also Music Director of [NOW]Fest, an annual festival of New Opera Works.
Dean previously served as Principal Conductor of the New York City based LoftOpera where he conducted eight productions including their critically acclaimed stagings of Puccini’s La Bohème, Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. His work with LoftOpera was praised by the New York Observer as “maintaining a constant, flexible rapport with singers,” and “supporting the voices smoothly.” The New York Times called his conducting “tender and gentle,” as well as “agile and well balanced.” He additionally was Assistant Conductor for Chelsea Opera.
Dean is a frequent Guest Conductor of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and has regularly appeared with the Heights Chamber Orchestra and Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and has worked extensively with the Blue Streak Ensemble, a contemporary chamber group founded by renowned composer Margaret Brouwer. A strong advocate for New Music, Dean has led over 30 premieres of new works.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dean holds a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Carl Topilow.