Leo Najar
Artistic Director, Bay Musical Arts, Inc. and
The Bijou Orchestra
On May 17, 2011, our beloved Maestro passed away. We
miss him dearly and thank him for the wonderful years of music, laughter and love.
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 was 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 was also Director of Music at First
Presbyterian Church and The Bay Concert Band in Bay City.
