Hailed by the Washington Post for his "fascinating" and "illuminating" programming, Michael Jacko is a conductor in Dallas, Texas. He serves as Head of Orchestral Studies at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he is also the Director of the Music Conservatory. At Booker T., Jacko teaches classes in full orchestra, string orchestra, music theory, Integration of Abilities, and college portfolio.

 

Jacko relocated to the Metroplex from the Washington, DC area in 2015, where he held Music Director positions with the Maryland Sinfonietta and the University of Maryland Repertoire Orchestra; as well as staff conductor positions with the Capital City Symphony, the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and the Youth Orchestras of Prince William. In Washington, Jacko also worked in the Music Department at the National Gallery of Art, where he served as Cover Conductor for the National Gallery of Art Orchestra. He recently conducted the Maryland Sinfonietta in the opening program of the National Gallery's 65th American Music Festival, in which he led the ensemble with "bright, propulsive energy" (Simon Chin, Washington Post).

 

Jacko began his conducting study while pursuing a degree from the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, he regularly conducted the University Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. Jacko completed further studies at Bard College, the University of Denver, and the University of Maryland, where he served as Assistant Conductor to various instrumental, choral, and operatic ensembles. While at Bard he coordinated and conducted a string ensemble for Noemie LaFrance’s site-specific ballet, Rapture, staged atop the magnificent Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center, and he also led the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra as a guest conductor.

 

A passionate student and teacher of conducting, Jacko has taught conducting courses at the University of Maryland and Towson University; and he has attended workshops in the United States and abroad led by Leon Botstein, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Maurice Peress, Emilio Pomarico, David Robertson, Gerard Schwarz, Markand Thakar, and Carl Topilow. His primary instructors have included Lawrence Golan, Harold Farberman, and James Ross.