Dr. Martin Seggelke
German-born conductor Dr. Martin H. Seggelke is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Pinellas Park Civic Orchestra, the Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of the San Francisco Wind Symphony (formerly: San Francisco Wind Ensemble), a professional level wind ensemble in the Bay Area, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the South Pasadena Community Band, and works as music professor and administrator at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.
Prior to his appointment at USFSP, Dr. Seggelke has conducted large instrumental ensembles and has taught conducting at San Francisco State University, the College of Marin, the University of Minnesota Morris, Illinois State University, the Eastman School of Music, the State University of New York in Fredonia, the University of Bremen, Germany, and the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary. He has held several professional positions as Music Director and Conductor, including the New Opera Theatre Ensemble (NOTE) Bremen, OSSIA New Music at Eastman, the Symphonic Wind Band Norderstedt, and the Norderstedt Youth Wind Orchestra.
Ensembles under Dr. Seggelke’s leadership have enjoyed high critical acclaim at national and international conferences and performance venues. With the San Francisco Wind Symphony, he has recorded at Skywalker Ranch, at the 2015 WASBE Conference in San Jose’s California Theatre, and for the Mark Records label; with the ISU Wind Symphony he has recorded on the
Naxos and Klavier labels, winning the American Prize in 2015.
Professor Seggelke is a highly sought-after guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator, nationally and internationally. He has presented at national and international conferences, and has authored book chapters and articles in various music magazines. Composers, ensemble musicians, audiences and critics continue to praise his emotional interpretations and innovative concert programming. An advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Seggelke has commissioned and premiered a large number of new compositions. Among his honors and awards are the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Award for Excellence in Teaching, the University of Minnesota Award for Outstanding Student Leadership, the Illinois State University Impact Award, the Eastman School of Music Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as several international and national grants, scholarships and first prizes at national music competitions.
Martin Seggelke holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music and further graduate studies in New York, Canada, and Germany. His teachers include Mark Scatterday, NeilVaron, Brad Lubman, Christoph Eschenbach, Toshiyuki Shimada, Gunther Schuller, Paul Vermel, Pierre Kuijpers, Baldur Brönnimann, Donald Hunsberger, Frederick Fennell, Paula Holcomb, Glenn Price, and Claus Peter Flor.
For two years Dr. Seggelke played clarinet with the German Marine Band, Kiel. He proceeded to work as a studio musician and freelance performer, including productions for the Northern German Radio Station (NDR) and appearances at the Salzburg Festival 2003 and the Schauspielhaus Hannover. He performed with the Bremen Chamber Symphony, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, the WASBE International Youth Wind Orchestra, the MID Europe International Wind Orchestra, and appeared as soloist with several orchestras. His private clarinet studio included students in the U.S. and Germany.
A certified Reiki Master Teacher, he practices Reiki throughout the community.
The Pinellas Park Civic Orchestra is thrilled to have Martin as Conductor and looks forward to providing the community with exciting and beautiful performances!