Maestro Winkler

Benjamin K. Winkler

Music Director and Conductor

Maestro Winkler brings over 30 years of international performing experience to the podium, with extensive experience in both instrumental and choral conducting. He has conducted in 14 countries in South and Central America, and in Europe, he has conducted in Germany, France, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic. He is the former Music Director of the Athenaeum Pops Orchestra in Indianapolis and the Westminster Symphony in Denver, and is the current Music Director of both the Oquirrh Mountain Symphony and the Nebo Philharmonic in Utah.

Since moving to Utah in 2001, Maestro Winkler has appeared as a guest on the podium for the Salt Lake Symphonic Winds, the Orchestra of Southern Utah in Cedar City, and the American Fork Symphony. He recently completed graduate studies in orchestral conducting at the University of Utah, where he conducted the University of Utah Chamber Orchestra, and guest-conducted other university ensembles, including the University Symphony and the Philharmonia.

In addition to his conducting, Maestro Winkler is an award-winning composer and arranger. In recent years, he has been a featured performer at the concerts of the Composers Guild in Salt Lake City. He has also been known to perform as a brass instrumentalist of considerable talent on occasion. Maestro Winkler has studied orchestral conducting with Stan DeRusha, Jorge Mester, and Robert Baldwin. Other advanced studies include the International Conducting Workshops (Bulgaria) working with Carl St. Clair, Rossen Milanov, and Gustav Meier. He also studied choral composition with the internationally renowned choral composer James Mulholland. He has been a member of the Composers Guild since 2000, and the Conductors Guild since 1994.

Maestro Winkler was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and raised in Maryland. He and his wife Beth met while living in Indianapolis. They currently live in Payson, Utah, where they share a family of nine children (as "empty-nesters") and a rapidly growing collection of grandchildren.

“Classical music is classical because it has been popular for a long time.” - Maestro Winkler