Jay Fishman, the Executive and Artistic Directors of the Minnesota Sinfonia, earned Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Minnesota, where he studied composition with Paul Fetler. With the aid of an undergraduate teaching assistantship, he started his conducting career during his senior year, by conducting the University’s chamber Orchestra. After finishing at Minnesota, Mr. Fishman entered the Indiana University School of Music, where he completed a Masters of Music in orchestral conducting, and also studied with famed musicologists Walter Kaufmann, Julius Herford and visiting professor, Irwin Jacobi. After a two-year stint conducting the Louisville Chamber Orchestra, which included over30 summer performances as part of the Mayor’s Summer Scene, Mr. Fishman traveled to London, England, where he studied for two years with Sir Neville Marriner, conductor of the Academy of Saint Martins in the Fields Orchestra. In 1974, he was a finalist in the Fulbright-Hayes Conducting Fellowship, and in 1978, while in London, he recorded for radio broadcast with the BBC.

From 1978-1989 Jay Fishman served as the Music Director for the Minneapolis Chamber Symphony (which he founded). Under his leadership, the MCS received local, regional and national accolades, including the Award for Excellence from the McKnight Foundation, and ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Fishman has been the Artistic Director of the Minnesota Sinfonia since its inception in 1989, and has developed programs and policies that are gaining national attention. Under his leadership, the Siufonia inaugurated polices of free admission and children welcome at all concerts, as well Music in the Schools, an education program that takes the entire orchestra into inner-city public schools, and relates music content to the children’s primary academics. Over the last twenty-six years, Mr. Fishman has conducted approximately 1000 performances in the Twin Cities and throughout the region.