Catherine Birke

Conductor, 2024 High School Honors String Orchestra (Carnegie Hall)

Catherine Birke is an energetic and passionate conductor and educator. She is the Music Director of the Music Advancement Program (MAP) at The Juilliard School, the Music Director of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (MYO) Nassau Symphony Orchestra, and the Director of Orchestras at Herricks High School in New Hyde Park, NY. A sought-after guest conductor for collegiate, regional, and All State festivals, she specializes in working with young musicians in ensemble settings and is an expert at getting students of all ages to achieve the highest levels of musical performance.

Ms. Birke’s ensembles perform annually at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and Alice Tully Hall, and compete regularly in regional and national competitions, such as the ASTA National Orchestra Festival. In 2023, Ms. Birke prepared the MAP Orchestra for a side-by-side performance with the New York Philharmonic as part of The Composing Inclusion Project, a partnership of The Juilliard School Preparatory Division, New York Philharmonic, and American Composers Forum. She has served as the Director of Strings at the NY State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) School of Orchestral Studies and as an adjunct faculty member at Hofstra University. As a violinist, she regularly performs as Concertmaster of the South Shore Symphony.