Throughout the revolution of culture and entertainment that Oklahoma has experienced over the past decade, there’s been a host of artists and trailblazers that have come to find a home base – or even just a home – in our state, including some of the world’s highest level athletes and filmmakers.
But few have done quite so much – or have traveled quite so far – to connect to the Oklahoman community and to elevate its stories and histories to the heights of high art as German-born conductor and artistic director of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate.
Since diving into the job as the leader of the OKC Phil in 2018, Mickelthwate has directed the unique power of orchestral music toward exploring the rich histories and deeply rooted emotions of Oklahoman culture, commissioning works and albums to memorialize the OKC Bombing with composer Jonathon Leshnoff and to honor Civil Rights giant Clara Luper with composer Hannibal Lokumbe.
But even as he’s spent his life in reverence of the transformational power of orchestral music, and of its ability to bring listeners along on a sonic journey, Mickelthwate first had to complete a journey of his own, one that began in his hometown of Frankfort with a very different culture of expectations.
Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate: It was very different growing up in that environment than here.
For me, in my world, conductors were, I mean, I never would be able to become that. It was just way too far away, too unrealistic. You’d have to be a certain type of genius in order to do that.
I still decided when I was 17 to become a conductor, but it was not until America, I mean, seriously, that spirit here, it was really like, “well, work. Just work and make it happen.” You don't have to be born into a certain family, or you don't have to be born into being this, whatever, wonder child.
Just work.
Brett Fieldcamp: That resolute goal of conducting led Mickelthwate to study at Baltimore’s prestigious Peabody Institute before stints conducting in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade.
But a desire for a bigger city, and for something different and largely unexpected, drew him to OKC.
Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate: When I auditioned for the job here, that was kind of really, actually positive for me, because I don't know, there were several things that surprised me how open minded actually Oklahoma was. And since then, I actually, I do really like it here a lot.
So when I came here, I felt, again, I can breathe more. And there were a whole bunch of things that were exciting, I must say.
So I felt I'm totally at the right place.
Brett Fieldcamp: As he had done previously in Winnipeg, he set to digging into the history, culture, and present-day community of Oklahoma to develop an identity for the OKC Philharmonic as a true reflection of the Oklahoman people that the orchestra is meant to represent.
Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate: The whole point is to make it meaningful to A: the time that we're living in right now, 2025 but then also B: the location with all the people's history and cultural things in that place.
So yes, so we kind of go more into Clara Luper, the Bombing, we have Native American now.
Because for me, it's really exciting to be meaningful to people that live here and to celebrate with them. And I actually still would like to do so much more.
Brett Fieldcamp: That’s the same mentality that drives Mickelthwate’s love of bringing the power of symphonic music out of the Civic Center and more directly to the public at large with summer evenings performing in Scissortail Park or demonstrating the joys of classical music and conducting at The Soundbar.
It’s all in service of bridging those gaps between cultures, communities, and even generations, as with the upcoming installment of the Phil’s Oklahoma Stories series entitled “Celebrating our Future” on October 25th.
Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate: Our next Classics, I'm quite excited about, where we, for the first time, collaborate with Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, and it's all about the talent of tomorrow from Oklahoma.
It's like our highly talented kids, so we have this fantastic 15 year-old pianist Yihan Zhang playing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto, and we have this Cherokee composer Kiegan Ryan playing his own work with us.
So in itself, it's a real cool Oklahoma story.
Brett Fieldcamp: Whether presenting iconic symphony classics or contemporary cartoon and video game music, the Maestro’s goal remains the same: to capture the same epic and transcendental power of orchestral music that sparked his love as a child in Germany and that continues so clearly even now.
Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate: When one is invited to step outside of your action mindset and just is almost forced to simply “be,” something completely different happens that never happens in regular life.
This year, we are ending the season in May with Mahler's Symphony Number 2.
I would say, like, if you can have a chance to see, once in your life, the Pyramids, you kind of know, I mean, humankind is able to do amazing things. And you're, like, in awe. And this is the same, with a certain piece of music, if you ever have the chance, once in your life, to hear Mahler's Second Symphony…
Oh, my God.
Brett Fieldcamp: You can next see Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate this Friday, October 17th at the Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s gala fundraising event, the Maestro’s Ball and in the next installment of the Phil’s Oklahoma Stories series on October 25th.
For more, visit okcphil.org.
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