Leo Najar
Artistic Director, Bay Musical Arts, Inc. and
The Bijou Orchestra
Leo Najar has been one of Michigan’s most prominent musicians for over three decades.
He was the Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra from 1980 through 2003. During that time, he produced concerts,
chamber programs, operas, radio programs and a rich variety of thematic and educational programs, presenting over 4,000
community performers of many disciplines on stage with the Symphony.
He has served in artistic leadership positions
with The Midland Symphony Orchestra, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Ballet Michigan and the symphony orchestras of Flint, Dearborn
and Traverse City. In 2001 he served as a special advisor and principal guest conductor to the National Orchestra of El Salvador
under the auspices of the American State Department. He has given important premieres including works by Astor Piazzolla and
Philip Glass. His curiosity about less familiar European musical traditions led to the first American concert dedicated to
the classical music of Slovakia in Severance Hall in 1999, and in 2003 he was awarded the prestigious Cikker Prize by the
foundation of that name in Slovakia in recognition of his work to further interest in Slovak music. That prize led to a spring,
2004 concert tour with the State Chamber Orchestra of Zilina, which in turn generated an invitation to perform with the State
Radio Orchestra in Bratislava in the future.
Ardent in pursuit of new audiences, his innovative concerts have been
widely acclaimed. An accomplished arranger, he has written well over 200 works that combine the orchestra with a rainbow of
groups that include traditional ensembles such as chorus, gospel choir, jazz and bluegrass quartets to steel drums, klezmer
and zydeco bands
Mr. Najar has had a distinguished career as a teacher, serving on the faculties of The University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in Flint, Georgia State University, Central Michigan University, Wayne State University, the
National Music Camp at Interlochen, the Bay View Festival and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. A popular clinician and workshop presenter,
he has conducted the Michigan and Florida All-State high school orchestras as well as the Georgia Music Educators High School
Orchestra Festivals and numerous regional events.
In spring, 2003, he realized that the immense repertoire for
the American theater orchestra and its intimate scale presented the perfect vehicle to pursue his programming interests. This
led to the creation of The Bijou Orchestra; an ensemble that presents a wide range of programs in a format that was the primary
American orchestral fashion for nearly 100 years. The orchestra has toured to Canada for performances and they are featured
guest artists at this year’s Traverse City Film Festival.
He has served as a board member of the Conductors
Guild, President of the Michigan Orchestra Association, and an evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan
Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs. He is proud to be a Rotarian and is in community affairs, serving on the
Bay City Downtown Management Board and the Public Affairs Committee of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Najar is also
Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Bay City.
